Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak Faces 15-Year Sentence in Major 1MDB Corruption Scandal

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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been jailed for a further 15 years after he was found guilty of abusing his power to plunder millions from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund and launder the proceeds.

The sentence is in addition to the six-year term he is already serving for a separate case related to the now-defunct state investment vehicle.

Presiding Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah convicted the 72-year-old former leader on all four counts of abuse of power, as well as all 21 counts of money laundering, involving around 2.28 billion ringgit (AU$840 million) from the fund.

Najib, dressed in a navy blue suit and white shirt, was seen looking down, slumped in his seat as the judge read the verdict.

Sentences were handed down of 15 years for each count of power abuse and five years for each money laundering charge, to be served concurrently, after Najib’s current jail term ends in 2028.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been instructed to pay fines amounting to 11.39 billion ringgit (approximately A$4.2 billion). Additionally, the court has mandated the recovery of 2.08 billion ringgit (around A$762 million) in assets from him. Should he fail to comply, Najib faces the prospect of further imprisonment.

Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he would appeal the ruling on Monday.

In a statement read by his lawyer, Najib urged Malaysians to remain calm and rational and vowed to continue his fight.

“This struggle is not an effort to avoid responsibility,” he said. “It is an endeavour to uphold justice, to uphold the integrity of the constitution, and to defend the sovereignty of the rule of law without fear or favour.”

While Najib, the son of one of the country’s founding fathers, was groomed for leadership from a young age, he experienced a spectacular fall from power as public anger mounted over the corruption scandal.

Since his 2018 election loss, investigations under successive governments have ensnared him and his wife Rosmah Mansor in graft allegations.

Prosecutors say Najib abused his positions as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman to move vast sums from the fund into his personal accounts more than a decade ago.

According to investigators, proceeds from the fund were used to bankroll high-end real estate, a luxury yacht and precious artworks.

In a ruling delivered on Friday morning, Judge Sequerah rejected multiple defenses put forth by Najib’s legal team, one of which claimed that Najib had been deceived by his close confidant, the elusive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low. Low has denied any wrongdoing, and his current whereabouts remain a mystery.

Najib Razak has been incarcerated since August 2022, following his conviction on charges related to the 1MDB scandal. Source: AAP

Najib has maintained he was misled by Low and other 1MDB officials into believing that funds deposited into his account were donations from the Saudi royal family.

He has apologised for allowing the 1MDB scandal to happen during his tenure, but has consistently denied wrongdoing, maintaining he knew nothing about illegal transfers from the fund.

Najib could face maximum jail terms of between 15 and 20 years on each charge, as well as a fine of up to five times the value of the alleged misappropriations.

Najib has been in prison since August 2022, when Malaysia’s top court upheld a verdict convicting him of corruption for illegally receiving funds from a 1MDB unit.

His 12-year jail sentence in that case was halved last year by a pardons board.

His legal battle was dealt yet another blow on Monday after he lost a bid to serve the remainder of his current jail term at home rather than the Kajang Prison outside Kuala Lumpur.