Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak sentenced to 15 years and hefty fine in 1MDB corruption trial

Malaysian former prime minister Najib Razak, centre, is escorted by prison officers on his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur High Court complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia -- Imprisoned former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 15 years and a hefty 13.5 billion ringgit (US$3.3 billion) in fines and assets after being convicted Friday in his biggest corruption trial tied to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund.

The nation’s High Court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than $700 million channelled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah sentenced Najib to 15 years in prison for each charge of abuse of power, and five years for each of the money laundering charges. The sentences are to run concurrently which means he will face another 15 years in prison. The new sentence will run after his current term for an earlier 1MDB case ends, the judge said.

He imposed a total fine of 11.4 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion) for the abuse of power charges. In addition, he also ordered another 2.08 billion ringgit (514 million) in assets to be recovered from Najib under money laundering laws. If Najib fails to pay, he faces more years in prison.

Najib’s lawyer Mohamed Shafee Abdullah said the judge “made so many blunders” and that they would appeal the verdict. Dressed in blue suit, Najib stood up and was calm when the sentencing was announced, slumping later back in his chair in the dock.

Najib denied wrongdoing

The ruling marked a major milestone in one of the world’s largest financial scandals, which rippled across global markets and triggered investigations in the United States and other nations.

Najib denied any wrongdoing and maintained the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains at large.

Sequerah said Najib’s claim of a Saudi donation was “incapable of belief.” Four letters purportedly from the Saudi donor were forged and evidence clearly showed the funds originated from 1MDB, he said.

He rejected defence arguments that Najib was an unwitting victim, duped by former 1MDB officials and Low. Witness testimonies had pointed to an “unmistakable bond” between Najib and Low, who had played a pivotal role in the scandal and operated as “the proxy, the conduit, the intermediary and the facilitator” for Najib in 1MDB, the judge said.

The judge noted that Najib failed to take steps to verify the origin of the massive funds nor took action against Low. Instead, Najib used the money despite its suspicious origins and took steps to protect his position, including by removing the then-attorney general and anti-corruption chief investigating the case, he said.

While Najib returned most of the funds to an offshore account where they came from, he said this was clearly staged to conceal the illicit origin of the funds.

“The accused was no country bumpkin,” said Sequerah, who took five hours to read the ruling. “Any attempt to paint the accused as an ignoramus who was hopelessly unaware of the misdeeds going around him must therefore, fail miserably.”

Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, currently is serving a prison sentence after being convicted in an earlier case linked to the 1MDB scandal, which led to his government’s defeat in 2018.

He 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) channelled into his accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

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

Billions looted from 1MDB

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

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

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.

By Eileen Ng