Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak gets 15-year jail term in state funds scandal.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of abuse of power and money laundering in his second major case linked to the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Najib, who is 72, was accused of misusing nearly 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit from the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). On Friday afternoon, a judge convicted him on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering.
He is already serving a prison sentence after being convicted in an earlier 1MDB-related case and has been behind bars since 2022. The latest ruling comes after seven years of legal proceedings, during which 76 witnesses testified in court.
The verdict was delivered in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital, marking the second setback for Najib in the same week. He received four separate 15-year sentences for abuse of power and additional five-year sentences for each of the money laundering charges. Under Malaysian law, all sentences will run at the same time.
Earlier this week, the court also rejected Najib’s request to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
Despite his convictions, Najib continues to have loyal supporters who insist he has been treated unfairly. On Friday, dozens of supporters gathered outside the court, calling for his release.
The 1MDB scandal first shocked the world about a decade ago, drawing in major international players, including Goldman Sachs and figures in Hollywood. Investigators estimate that around $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and diverted into private accounts, including Najib’s.
Najib’s legal team has argued that he was misled by his advisers, particularly financier Jho Low, who remains a fugitive and denies wrongdoing. However, Malaysian courts have repeatedly rejected this defence.
In 2020, Najib was convicted in another case involving 42 million ringgit transferred from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, into his personal accounts. He was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison, though that term was later reduced.
The current case involves a much larger sum transferred to Najib’s bank account in 2013. Najib claimed the money was a donation from the late Saudi King Abdullah, but the judge dismissed this explanation.
Separately, Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2022 for bribery. She remains free on bail while appealing her conviction.
The scandal has had lasting effects on Malaysian politics. In 2018, it led to a historic election defeat for Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition, which had ruled the country since independence in 1957.
The latest verdict has also exposed divisions within the current ruling coalition, which includes Najib’s party, UMNO. While his allies expressed disappointment over the rejection of house arrest, critics within the same coalition welcomed the decision.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged politicians to respect the courts and uphold the rule of law.
Former lawmaker Tony Pua said the ruling sends a strong message that no leader is above the law, even a sitting or former prime minister. However, anti-corruption activist Cynthia Gabriel warned that Malaysia still has a long way to go, saying corruption remains deeply rooted and that safeguards are not strong enough to prevent another scandal like 1MDB.
“Grand corruption continues in different forms,” she said, adding that it remains unclear whether another similar case could happen again.
