

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak stood in the dock in Kuala Lumpur as he was accused over his role in a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal that brought down his government and triggered an international outcry.

Ten years to the day after he was sworn in as head of government, the 65-year-old denied all charges on Wednesday at the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a state investment vehicle established to develop the economy of the south-east Asian nation. More than $4.5bn (£3.4bn) was allegedly stolen from the fund via an international network of corruption.

The trial began at Kuala Lumpur’s high court with the attorney general, Tommy Thomas, saying Najib wielded “near absolute power” between 2009-18 as prime minister and finance minister.

Leading the prosecution, Thomas said the trial would show that the accused was “not above the law, and that “his prosecution and this trial should serve as precedents for all future holders of this august office”.

The trial, originally set for February, features seven corruption charges relating to SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB. Najib is accused of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering connected to 42m Malaysian ringgits (£7.8m) of SRC funds. He denies the charges.

The figure is a drop in the ocean of money Najib is accused of stealing, with larger amounts to be addressed in three further 1MDB-related trials. He is accused of pocketing a total of $681m from the investment fund, which he founded in 2009, saying it would be used to strengthen Malaysia’s economy.

Instead, money allegedly swindled from it funded super-luxury lifestyles for Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor. Contacts of theirs including Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman who became known for partying with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, are also alleged to have received enormous amounts of 1MDB money.

Low, who allegedly used 1MDB cash to bankroll the 2013 Leonardo DiCaprio film The Wolf of Wall Street, is a fugitive, believed by some to be in hiding in China. Others embroiled in the scandal include the US investment bank Goldman Sachs, which is accused along with former employees of stealing billions of dollars from 1MDB. At least six countries, including the US and Singapore, have launched corruption investigations into 1MDB.

A hint of the kinds of lifestyles Najib and his associates are accused of funding came in Thomas’s opening argument. After reeling off a list of bank deposits Najib allegedly received, the attorney general said a payment of $130,625 was made with Najib’s credit card in a Chanel shop in Honolulu in 2014.

An even bigger hint came before the trial, when the Malaysian government announced it had sold the superyacht Equanimity to the casino operator Genting Group for $126m. The sale of the yacht, which features a cinema and gym and was allegedly previously bought by Low, marked the most valuable single asset recovery from the 1MDB scandal so far.

Wednesday’s trial began despite an attempt by the defence to delay it, unsuccessfully filing a motion to challenge the charges. Having finally reached the dock, Najib could spend the next few years in court. He faces 42 corruption charges across three further trials this year relating to 1MDB . He could spend decades in prison if found guilty of any of the more serious offences.

Wearing a dark blue suit and tie, Najib walked past an enormous pack of photographers and a smattering of well-wishers before entering the courtroom.

Outside the building a middle-aged man wearing aviator sunglasses and a black hat, who introduced himself as Baha Taha, told the Guardian that he would be “upset” if Najib went to prison. “He’s the leader of the people of Malaysia,” he shouted.

Malaysia’s prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, capitalised on public mistrust of Najib to win the country’s general election in May 2018 and claim a second stint as head of government.

Najib Razak: the former Malaysian prime minister is charged with abuse of trust, abuse of power and money laundering. Photograph: Sanghwan Jung/REX/Shutterstock

The shock victory ended Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition’s 60-year dominance of Malaysian politics. A former Barisan Nasional leader and mentor to Najib, Mahathir, 93, led the Pakatan Harapan coalition for his 2018 win.

Some have speculated that Najib’s defence wants the trials to drag on as long as possible, to increase the chances of them concluding when Mahathir is not in power. The veteran leader has vowed to bring his former protege to justice.

Najib said little in court but appeared relaxed, laughing quietly with his legal team before listening to the one witness testifying. The witness, an employee of the business regulator Companies Commission of Malaysia, discussed SRC records.

Outside the court, the lead defence lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said Najib was confident. “You seldom make a person who is very organised in thoughts [worry], and who is always confident,” he said. “The reason behind the confidence is because he believes strongly that he didn’t do anything wrong.”

The trial will continue on 15 April.