KINI ROUNDUP | Here are the key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

Shafee Abdullah charged

Senior lawyer Shafee Abdullah was charged with two counts of money laundering and two counts of making false statements in regards to the RM9.5 million he received from former premier Najib Abdul Razak.

Shafee, who is the lead counsel in Najib's graft case, told reporters that the charges are nonsensical and politically-motivated.

He also claimed that the RM9.5 million was actually the 'discounted' payment for legal work he has done for BN and Umno over the years.

The lawyer sought for retired Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram to recuse himself from leading the prosecution in his case, citing “history” between them.

Najib, meanwhile, claimed that the decision to charge Shafee was meant to intimidate and deny him a fair trial.

Najib 'explains' RM2.6 source

Najib, in a lengthy Facebook post, claimed that the RM2.6 billion found in his personal accounts were “contingency funds” he had received from Tanore Finance, allegedly owned by the Saudi King, prior to GE13.

Deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said investigations have revealed that a total of US$972 million (RM2.973 billion) was transferred into Najib's personal AmIslamic bank account, through three phases – Good Star, Aabar and Tanore.

Noor Rashid also said that there have been no official claims with regard to the RM114 million in cash and valuables seized from residences linked to Najib following the authorities' 1MDB-linked probes.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that asset recovery in the 1MDB fraud investigation is going much slower than expected.

Lim also said that the ringgit's performance against the US dollar is among the best vis-a-vis the world's major currencies despite the recent transfer of power and weak external factors and will only get better when BN-linked scandals, such as the 1MDB, have been resolved.

Other Kinibites

Umno's Padang Rengas MP Nazri Abdul Aziz says he will campaign for PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim in the coming Port Dickson by-election as it is what is best for Umno in order for the party to get back into government.

Meanwhile, PAS Ulama chief Mahfodz Mohamed said that the Islamist party will give way to Umno to contest in Port Dickson.

FGV Holdings Bhd Group president/chief executive officer Zakaria Arshad has been suspended from his duties after a notice of inquiry was served on him.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said some 14,000 “lesen terbang” motorists have one month from Thursday (Sept 13) to surrender their illegally-obtained licences or risk being nabbed following the arrest of 12 officers who provided such licences.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has dismissed accusations of nepotism with regard to her husband Anwar contesting in the Port Dickson by-election.

Looking ahead

Prime Minister, and Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad will chair the party's central committee meeting.

Hakam chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan will talk about deaths in custody.