[JURIST] Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak [official website] was cleared of corruption charges by the Attorney General on Tuesday. The Attorney General’s Office [official website] announced that the USD $681 million in Razak’s personal bank account that was previously alleged to be from a state investment fund were actually discovered [Malaysia News report] to be a personal donation from the Saudi royal family. Razak has always denied the accusations, and has since reportedly returned [BBC report] $620 million of the donation. In July Razak fired [JURIST report] Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail who first announced the corruption investigation and replaced him with cabinet member Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Najib Razak’s corruption allegations have been a hot topic of debate the past few months in Malaysia. In July two major opposition parties in Malaysia called for an emergency [JURIST report] sitting of parliament in order to discuss the future of the country’s prime minister. A police report has also been lodged against Razak by many opposition members, including representatives [Reuters report] of political parties. In 2006, Razak, who has served as the country’s prime minister since 2009, was accused [BBC report] of being connected to the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, after her remains were found in October of that year in Kuala Lumpur. Razak, who was deputy prime minister at the time, denied having any connections to the murder or even knowing the model.