75-year-old Muhyiddin Yassin was arrested just months after losing an election to PM Anwar Ibrahim in November. He has been accused of bribery and money laundering through his government's Covid spending fund.

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been charged with abuse of power and money laundering in connection with the awarding of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to report, The charges were filed after Muhyiddin was questioned by investigators from Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency for a number of hours on Thursday over a government support programme that his government introduced to help building contractors during the coronavirus lockdown.

Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, pleaded not guilty on Friday and claimed the charges were politically motivated

Prosecutors allege these bribes totaled 232.5 million ringgit ($51.4 million, €48.5 million) for Muhyiddin's center-right, Malay-dominated political party Bersatu.

Muhyiddin was also charged with money laundering relating to 195 million ringgit that was deposited into party coffers.

He faces up to 20 years in jail and substantial fines if found guilty making him the country's second leader to be indicted for corruption after leaving office.

Muhyiddin rose up party ranks under former Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is himself serving a 12-year jail term for corruption over the plunder of state investment firm 1MDB.

He fell out with Najib in 2015, when he was sacked after criticizing the government over the 1MDB scandal.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who formed a multi-ethnic, center-left coalition in late 2022, has pledged to tackle corruption in the Southeast Asian nation.