Murder in Malaysia: Justice for Altantuya Shaariibuu | 101 East Documentary
Whistleblower Bribed and Exiled Over Declaration
A speaker signed a statutory declaration alleging Najib Razak also had an affair with Altantuya Shaariibuu and that she was promised $500,000 for a French submarine deal. After Najib's brother Nazim intervened, a speaker says he was threatened, paid 5 million ringgit, and exiled for five years to retract it, though he reaffirmed its truth before dying in 2013.
French Probe Links Kickbacks to Submarine Deal
Following a 2009 complaint by NGO Suaram alleging over $150 million in kickbacks on a French Scorpene submarine deal, French prosecutors recommended in 2024 that Razak Baginda face a criminal trial. Cited French evidence indicates money flowed until 2010 and Najib Razak attended contract meetings, while lawyer William Bourdon expects a trial order within months.
Azilah Hadri Accuses Najib Razak From Death Row
Following Najib Razak's 2018 election loss, death-row accomplice Azilah Hadri filed a 32-page statutory declaration in 2019 stating Najib personally ordered him to eliminate Altantuya Shaariibuu as a foreign spy with a neck-cut gesture. After Mahathir Mohamad's government fell, prosecutors objected to Azilah's bid, though his death sentence was commuted to 40 years in 2023.
Sirul Corroborates Order as Extradition Stalls
Released from Australian detention in late 2023, a speaker corroborated Azilah Hadri's account, stating Azilah told him the killing was a special operation for Najib Razak targeting a Russian spy. Although Malaysia's death penalty repeal allows extradition if three ministers sign a guarantee letter, a speaker says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has stayed silent.
2026 Civil Appeal Frees Malaysia of Liability
A 2022 civil judgment held Razak Baginda and the Malaysian government liable after Baginda refused to testify under oath, and obtained SMS messages show Baginda asked Musa Safri to meet at the deputy prime minister's office the night before the murder. However, in January 2026 an appeals court freed the government of liability because the officers were off duty.
