KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia— Malaysia’s attorney general on Friday temporarily blocked the transfer of former Prime Minister Najib Razak from prison to house arrest to serve the remainder of his graft sentence at home, saying more legal clarification was needed. The last-minute intervention came after local media reported that Najib had left the prison, after his political party paid a 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine required under the terms of a royal pardon allowing house arrest. The attorney general’s office said in a statement that Najib would remain in prison until the legal matters were resolved. Najib has been imprisoned since August 2022, when Malaysia’s top court upheld his conviction in his first graft trial linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of state investment fund 1MDB. Malaysia’s king in September granted Najib clemency, allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest once he pays the court-imposed fine. The house arrest applies only to his reduced six-year sentence in the first trial. It doesn’t cover a separate 15-year prison sentence imposed in December 2025 for corruption and money laundering in a second major trial tied to the 1MDB scandal. He’s appealing that sentence. The attorney general’s office cited legal ambiguities in the house arrest order and raised concerns over how it could affect Najib’s consecutive 15-year prison sentence. It said the delay was not to meant to contest the royal pardon allowing house arrest but to ensure it was implemented accurately and in line with the law. Local media reported that Najib was returned to prison later Friday, after undergoing medical checks. Police were earlier stationed at Najib’s house in Kuala Lumpur and the road leading to it was blocked. Najib’s lawyers could not be immediately reached for comment. Asyraf Wajid Dusuki, secretary-general of the United Malays National Organization, said in a statement that the party had collected sufficient funds through its donation drive for Najib. He said the party had completed payment of the fine at the High Court earlier Friday. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier said that he disagreed with UMNO’s decision to settle Najib’s fine because it risked sending the wrong message about large-scale corruption offenses. But he acknowledged it was the party’s right. “That should not give the public the impression that acts of corruption involving billions of ringgit can simply be overlooked,” he was quoted as saying by the national news agency Bernama. Najib could be imprisoned again if his second appeal fails Najib set up the 1MDB development fund shortly after he took office in 2009. Investigators say at least US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates through layers of bank accounts in the U.S. and other countries. The funds were allegedly used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases that included hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry. He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 210 million ringgit (US$51.5 million) in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) channeled into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. In January 2024, the Pardons Board halved his sentence to six years and reduced his fine to 50 million ringgit. King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar subsequently granted Najib a conditional pardon, paving the way for house arrest until Aug. 23, 2028, provided he paid the fine. If Najib fails to win appeal in the second case, he could face a further 15 years in prison after the current sentence ends. Public outrage over the 1MDB scandal led to the historic 2018 election defeat of the ruling coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957. Despite his conviction, Najib still wields influence in his party, UNMO, which is now part of a new government that took power in 2022. The Associated Press
