Throwing new financial controversy at the feet of Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Swiss Attorney-General has asked Malaysia to aid in a probe into the alleged misappropriation of US$4 billion (S$5.7 billion) linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) – the first time that a foreign-government investigator has openly waded into the 1MDB affair.

Previous explosive allegations involving financial problems at the state investment firm were made mostly by the foreign media using documents sourced from Malaysian investigators.

The Swiss on Friday said funds were transferred to Swiss accounts belonging to former Malaysian public officials.

… S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies fellow Oh Ei Sun sees PM Najib and his coalition being hurt by 1MDB in the coming elections, but said that any “regime change is next to impossible under the current electoral arrangement”.