Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak jailed for 15 years in state funds scandal

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for abuse of power and money laundering, his second major trial in the multibillion-dollar state funds scandal.

Najib, 72, is accused of embezzling nearly 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit ($569 million; £422 million) from the country’s sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

On Friday afternoon, a judge found him guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering.

The former prime minister is now in jail after being convicted in another 1MDB-related case several years ago.

The verdict was handed down on Friday after seven years of legal proceedings in which 76 witnesses took the stand.

The sentence, handed down in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya, was the second blow in the same week for the embattled former leader, who has been jailed since 2022.

He was sentenced to four 15-year sentences for abuse of power and five years each for 21 counts of money laundering. The terms of imprisonment shall run concurrently in accordance with Malaysian law.

On Monday, the court rejected his request to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

But the former prime minister retains a loyal following of supporters who claim he was the victim of an unfair verdict and attended his trial to demand his release.

Dozens of people gathered outside the Putrajaya court on Friday to support Najib.

The 1MDB scandal made headlines around the world when it was revealed a decade ago, implicating big names from Malaysia to Goldman Sachs and Hollywood.

Investigators estimate that $4.5 billion was transferred from state wealth funds to private pockets, including Najib’s.

Najib’s lawyers claim he was misled by advisers, particularly financier Jho Low. He maintains his innocence but remains at large.

But this argument did not convince a Malaysian court, which previously ruled that Najib Convicted of corruption in 2020.

That year, Najib was found guilty of abuse of power, money laundering and breach of trust over the transfer of more than 42 million ringgit ($10 million; £7.7 million) from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, into his personal accounts.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison but served time Halved last year.

The latest case involves a large sum of money received into his personal bank account in 2013 and is also linked to 1MDB. Najib said he believed the money was a donation from the late Saudi King Abdullah, but a judge rejected that claim on Friday.

In addition, Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2022 For bribes. She is currently free on bail pending an appeal against her conviction.

The scandal has had a profound impact on Malaysian politics. In 2018, this led to the historic defeat of Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition, which had ruled the country since independence in 1957.

Now, the latest verdict has highlighted divisions in Malaysia’s ruling coalition, which includes Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

Najib’s failure to move to house arrest on Monday disappointed his allies but was celebrated by critics within the same coalition.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called on politicians from all parties to respect the court’s ruling.

Former Malaysian MP Tony Pua told BBC Newsday the sentence would “send a message” to the country’s leaders that “even if you are number one in the country like the prime minister, you can be arrested for corruption”.

But Cynthia Gabriel, founding director of the Malaysian Center against Corruption and Nepotism, said the country has made little progress in its anti-corruption efforts despite years of 1MDB scandal.

She told Newsday that public institutions had not been strengthened enough to reassure Malaysians that “the politicians they hold in power will actually serve their interests” rather than “their own pockets”.

“Grand corruption continues to exist in different forms,” ​​she added. “We simply don’t know whether another 1MDB is likely to happen, or may have already happened.”