Aug24,2022:Malaysia’s top court on Tuesday upheld ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s graft conviction and 12-year jail sentence linked to the looting of the 1MDB state fund. Najib’s loss in his final appeal means he will have to begin serving his sentence immediately, becoming the first former prime minister to be jailed.
The five-member Federal Court panel said it unanimously found the high court judge was right in his judgment and that Najib’s appeal was “devoid of any merits.” The court affirmed Najib’s conviction and sentence.
1MDB was a development fund that Najib set up shortly after taking power in 2009. Investigators allege at least USD 4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates. Najib was found guilty in 2020 of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering for illegally receiving USD 9.4 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.
Najib, 69, has maintained he is innocent and has been out on bail pending his appeals. Just before the court delivered its verdict, he stood up in the dock to make a statement protesting the top court’s refusal last week to delay the appeal to let his newly appointed lawyers prepare for the case.
The verdict came after a series of attempts by Najib to prolong the case.
