Malaysia's ex-PM Najib convicted in 1MDB corruption trial

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was found guilty on Friday of abusing his power in the 1MDB graft scandal, which saw billions plundered from the now-defunct sovereign wealth fund.

The nation’s high court found Najib, 72, guilty on three counts of abuse of power.

"The prosecution, I find, has thus proven its case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt in respect of the first charge," Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said.

In the current court battle, the 72-year-old former leader stands accused of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering for receiving illegal transfers of about 2.2 billion ringgit ($544.15 million) from 1MDB.

Najib faces years more behind bars on top of the six-year jail term he is already serving after a conviction in a separate case related to the 1MDB fund.

Authorities said he siphoned more than $700 million into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund.

Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) channeled into his accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

He began serving his sentence in August 2022 after losing a final appeal, becoming Malaysia’s first former leader to be jailed. The Pardons Board, a body that advises rulers on granting clemency, halved his sentence and sharply reduced his fine in 2024.

Najib set up the 1MDB development fund shortly after taking office in 2009. He had chaired 1MDB’s advisory board and held veto power as finance minister while serving as prime minister.

The corruption case rippled across global markets and triggered investigations in the United States and other nations.

Between 2009 and 2014, top executives and associates of Najib looted over $4.5 billion from the fund, laundering it through countries including the US, Singapore and Switzerland, according to the US Justice Department.

Authorities alleged the funds were used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases including hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry. Jeff Sessions, the US attorney general at the time, called it “kleptocracy at its worst.”

The scandal also hit Wall Street, with Goldman Sachs facing billions in fines for its role in raising money for 1MDB.

The scion of a prominent political family, Najib was long seen as untouchable until public anger over 1MDB led to the 2018 election defeat of his ruling party, which had governed Malaysia since the country gained independence from Britain in 1957.

Najib denied any wrongdoing.

He maintained the funds were a donation from Saudi Arabia and he had been misled by rogue financiers led by Low Taek Jho. He also contended the prosecution was politically motivated. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains at large.

Prosecutors have argued Najib was the central decision-maker and ultimate beneficiary of the scheme and Low and other former 1MDB officials were merely “messengers” carrying out his bidding.

Earlier this week, Najib failed in his bid to serve his graft sentence under house arrest. Malaysia’s High Court ruled Monday that a rare royal order for home arrest issued by the nation’s former king was invalid because it was not made in accordance with constitutional requirements. Najib’s lawyer has said they plan to appeal.

Originally due for release in August 2028 after his sentence reduction, Najib now faces a longer stretch behind bars.

Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, also was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a massive fine in 2022 in a separate graft case. She has been released on bail pending an appeal.