Latest: Corruption and Money Laundering.

Malaysian student protesters demand 1MDB arrest.

By Joseph Sipalan | KUALA LUMPUR

Student activists march towards Dataran Merdeka,
 or Independence Square, to call for the arrest of
 'Malaysian Official 1' in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia August 27,
2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Nearly a thousand protesters marched in the heart of the Malaysian capital on Saturday calling for the arrest of an unnamed high-ranking government official who U.S. investigators say received $700 million skimmed from a sovereign fund.

The student-led mass rally comes more than a month after U.S. prosecutors filed civil lawsuits alleging that over $3.5 billion was defrauded from state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The lawsuits repeatedly referred to a high-ranking official, only identified as "Malaysian Official 1," who received some of the misappropriated funds. A source familiar with the U.S. investigations has told Reuters that the unnamed official is Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Led by student representative Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof, the protesters marched towards Dataran Merdeka, or Independence Square, shouting "the people live" and "catch MO1," referring to Malaysian Official 1 in the lawsuits.

The organizers had expected a turnout of 5,000.

"If we don't speak out, who else will push them, the authorities, to arrest a criminal who has given us so much grief?," Anis said in her address to the protesters.

"Can we send MO1 to jail and bring that person to face justice?" she asked the crowd, which responded with chants of "tangkap MO1," meaning "arrest" in Malay...

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