Malaysia to charge former minister over haj fund corruption

A former Malaysian minister overseeing religious affairs will be charged with Corruption next week, the country’s anti-Corruption agency has said, as authorities close in on once-powerful figures believed to have stolen from the nation’s haj pilgrim fund.The Corruption-commission" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="99709" data-entity-type="organization">Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) confirmed on Thursday that Jamil Khir Baharom – who served as religious affairs minister under disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak – would face three charges on Monday for misappropriation of assets linked to the multibillion-dollar Tabung Haji fund.The charges relate to alleged dubious dealings involving the leasing of hotels in Saudi Arabia, which manages access to Mecca where millions of Muslims from around the world gather annually for the Haj pilgrimage.