Former Malaysian prime minister heads to jail over 1MDB kleptocracy

Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia’s top court ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to begin a 12-year prison sentence on Tuesday after upholding a guilty conviction on charges related to a multibillion-dollar graft scandal at state fund 1MDB.

The federal court ruling caps the stunning downfall of Najib, who until four years ago governed Malaysia with an iron grip and suppressed local investigations into the 1MDB scandal, which has implicated financial institutions and high-ranking officials worldwide.

Prosecutors have said about $4.5bn was stolen from 1MDB, which was cofounded by Najib during his first year as prime minister in 2009. Investigators say they traced more than $1bn of 1MDB money to accounts linked to Najib.

Najib sat in the dock as the verdict was read out. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, and three children were seated behind him. Security officials then gathered around the bespectacled former premier and he was later seen leaving court in a black car with a police escort.

A court official and sources close to Najib said he was taken to Kajang Prison, about 40km away from Kuala Lumpur.

“This is unprecedented. Najib will be remembered for his many firsts: the first prime minister to lose a general election, the first to be convicted,” said Adib Zalkapli, director at political risk consultancy BowerGroupAsia.

The British-educated son of Malay nobility held the premiership from 2009 to 2018, when public anger over the graft scandal brought election defeat, and dozens of corruption charges were lodged in following months.

Najib, 69, was found guilty by a lower court in July 2020 of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10m from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He had been out on bail pending appeals.

The former premier, who had pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in jail and a 210-million ringgit ($46.84m) fine.

The wide-ranging 1MDB scandal prompted the US justice department to open what became its biggest kleptocracy investigation.

Wolf of Wall Street

Various recipients of the siphoned 1MDB funds, including a fugitive financier named Jho Low, used the money to buy luxury assets and property, a Picasso painting, a private jet, a superyacht, hotels and jewellery, as well as to finance the 2013 Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street, US lawsuits have said.

Knocking back Najib’s final appeal, the court also denied his request for a stay of sentence. “The defence is so inherently inconsistent and incredible that it has not raised reasonable doubt on the case ... We also find that the sentence imposed is not manifestly excessive,” chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said.

The panel of judges had unanimously dismissed Najib’s appeals, she said.

The court had earlier rejected a last-gasp effort by Najib to forestall the final verdict by requesting the removal of the chief justice from the panel.

Addressing the court moments before the final verdict was delivered, Najib said he is a victim of injustice, while asking for another two months for his new lawyers to prepare his appeal. “It’s the worst feeling to have to realise that the might of the judiciary is pinned against me in the most unfair manner,” Najib told the court.

Najib, who faces several more trials over the allegations, has consistently denied wrongdoing.

He can apply for a review of the federal court decision, though such applications are rarely successful. He can also seek a pardon from the king. If successful, he could be released without serving the full term. But the conviction means Najib will lose his parliamentary seat and cannot contest elections.

While Najib still has supporters among his base, many ordinary Malaysians welcomed the court decision. “He did a lot of things wrong for this country when he’s supposed to be responsible for our nation. He’s supposed to bring in money but instead he robbed money,” said tennis coach Farhan Raj, adding he is “very, very happy” with the judgment.

Reuters