Ex-PM Najib Razak guilty in Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, currently serving a prison sentence for corruption, was found guilty of abuse of power in the largest trial of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. The full verdict and sentencing are still pending.
Investigators say at least $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the state fund Najib co-founded in 2009. More than $1 billion allegedly ended up in accounts linked to Najib, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Najib’s claims that the charges were politically motivated were “debunked by cold, hard, and incontrovertible evidence,” highlighting his direct involvement and connection with fugitive financier Jho Low, who acted as his intermediary in 1MDB affairs. The judge also dismissed Najib’s claim that funds were legitimate donations from the Saudi royal family, calling the letters “implausible” and likely forged.
Najib faces multiple corruption and money laundering charges, carrying potential sentences of 15–20 years per charge and fines of up to five times the misappropriated amount. He has been in prison since August 2022, when Malaysia’s top court upheld his prior 12-year corruption sentence, later halved by a pardons board.
The verdict has political implications for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government, as Najib’s party UMNO is part of the ruling coalition despite past electoral opposition. Anwar urged calm and respect for the judicial process following the ruling.
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