The jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to an additional 15 years after he was found guilty of abuse of power, in the biggest trial yet in the multibillion-dollar fraud scandal related to the state fund 1MDB.
Najib’s conviction substantially increases the six-year prison term he is already serving for a separate case related to the 1MDB graft scandal, one of the world’s biggest financial frauds in which billions were plundered from the now defunct sovereign wealth fund.
In the latest case, Najib had been charged with four counts of corruption and 21 counts of money laundering for receiving illegal transfers of about 2.2bn ringgit ($544.15m) from 1MDB. He has consistently denied wrongdoing in the scandal, which dented Malaysia’s image abroad.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who was presiding, convicted Najib, 72, on all four counts of abuse of power. The former PM will also face a verdict on 21 counts of money laundering linked to the fund, which prompted investigations in several countries, from Singapore to the US.
The judge said in his verdict: “The contention by the accused that the charges against him were a witch-hunt and politically motivated were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence against him that pointed towards the accused having abused his own powerful position in 1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him.”
Malaysian and US investigators say at least $4.5bn was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund Najib co-founded in 2009 while in office. More than $1bn allegedly made its way into accounts linked to Najib, who has denied wrongdoing.
The ruling could add to tensions in the prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim’s, governing alliance, which includes the once dominant United Malays National Organisation, over which Najib, its former leader, has retained significant influence.
Najib has been in prison since August 2022, when Malaysia’s top court upheld a corruption conviction for illegally receiving funds from a 1MDB unit. His 12-year jail sentence in that case was halved last year by a pardons board.
Najib is the son of one of the country’s founding fathers and was groomed for leadership from a young age until his spectacular fall from power. He had been seen as untouchable until public anger over the 1MDB corruption scandal led to the 2018 election defeat of his ruling party, which had governed since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Prosecutors say Najib abused his positions as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chair to move large amounts of money from the fund into his personal accounts more than a decade ago.
According to investigators, proceeds from the state fund were used to bankroll high-end real estate, a luxury yacht and precious artworks.
Najib has repeatedly said he was misled by 1MDB officials and the fugitive financier Jho Low, who has been charged in the US for his central role in the case. Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, has denied wrongdoing.
The judge dismissed several of the defence lawyers’ arguments, including that Najib was duped by Low, his close associate. He also dismissed arguments that the money flowing into Najib’s accounts was “donations” from Middle East funders, calling it a “tale that surpassed even those from the Arabian Nights”.
The prosecution presented bank records, testimony from more than 50 witnesses and documentary evidence.
Najib “paints himself as a victim of rogue subordinates, when in truth, he was the single most powerful decision maker”, the deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court during closing arguments. “The accused wielded absolute financial, executive and political control,” he said.
Najib has apologised for allowing the 1MDB scandal to happen during his tenure, but maintains he knew nothing about illegal transfers from the fund.
His legal battle was dealt a blow on Monday after he lost an application to serve the remainder of his first jail term at home rather than the Kajang prison, outside Kuala Lumpur.
Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press contributed reporting
