Prosecution registers case against Najib's media advisor

Malaysia has sought the assistance of Interpol to arrest Paul Stadlen, the media advisor of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib informed this to Sessions Court judge Azman Ahmad when filing a charge against prominent lawyer Hafarizam Harun in the court in Kuala Lumpur today.

Akram said the prosecution had registered a case against Stadlen in a separate court and the arrest warrant has been produced.

This differs from the Bernama report yesterday, which quoted sources from the Attorney-General's Chambers as stating that Stadlen has been charged, in absentia in the KL Court Complex, with money laundering totalling RM15 million.

Subsequently, a legal firm claiming to represent Stadlen released a statement accusing the Pakatan Harapan government of entangling its client in its political backlash against the former prime minister.

Akram told the judge that if Stadlen (photo) is arrested, he would be charged and there's a possibility that he would undergo a joint trial with Hafarizam.

He said the prosecution has taken the necessary steps to obtain the arrest warrant against Stadlen and hand it over to the Interpol.

Whistleblower website Sarawak Report had alleged that Stadlen himself was paid millions of ringgit to mastermind a communications policy that resulted in the speedy statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on then PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's 2015 sodomy conviction.

The portal also alleged that Stadlen's firm was retained by the PMO at a minimum of RM3 million a year and was commissioned for a 1MDB-related project worth another RM1.5 million.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Stadlen was part of the national communications team of the PMO, back in 2013.

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