Ex-Malaysian PM jailed over corruption scandal that hit Hollywood, Wall Street

Putrajaya, Malaysia: Imprisoned former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 15 years in jail and penalised 13.5 billion ringgit ($5 billion) in fines and assets after being convicted in his biggest corruption trial tied to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund.

Malaysia’s High Court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than $US700 million ($1 billion) 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 the former leader 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.

Sequerah imposed a total fine of 11.4 billion ringgit for the abuse of power charges. In addition, he also ordered another 2.08 billion ringgit 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, but later slumped back in his chair in the dock.

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 US 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, the judge 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, is currently serving a prison term after being convicted in an earlier case linked to the 1MDB scandal, which led to his government’s defeat in Malaysia’s 2018 election.

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

The former prime minister began his sentence in August 2022 after losing a final appeal, and became the country’s first former leader to be jailed. The Pardons Board, a body that advises rulers on granting clemency, halved his sentence and sharply reduced his fine in 2024.

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 $US4.5 billion from the fund, laundering it through countries including the US, Singapore and Switzerland, according to the US Justice Department.

Authorities alleged the funds were used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases including hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewellery. Jeff Sessions, the US 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.

This week, Najib failed in his bid to serve his graft sentence under house arrest. Malaysia’s High Court ruled on 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 flagged an appeal.

Originally due for release in August 2028 after his sentence reduction, Najib now faces a longer stretch behind bars.

His wife, Rosmah Mansor, also was jailed for 10 years and fined in 2022 in a separate graft case. She has been released on bail pending an appeal.

AP

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