Malaysian ex-PM Najib Convicted in Largest 1MDB Trial

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Reuters) Jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was on Friday found guilty of abuse of power in the biggest trial yet linked to the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, a landmark ruling with potential political repercussions. The court is still in the process of delivering the full verdict and sentencing.Malaysian and US investigators say at least $4.5 billion was siphoned from 1MDB, a state investment fund Najib co-founded in 2009 while in office.

Prosecutors said that more than $1 billion of the stolen funds flowed into accounts linked to Najib, accusations he has long denied.

Najib faces four counts of corruption and 21 counts of money laundering over the alleged receipt of more than 2.3 billion ringgit ($569.45 million) in illegal transfers from 1MDB. He could receive maximum prison sentences of between 15 and 20 years on each charge, along with fines of up to five times the value of the alleged misappropriations.

Reading the verdict, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah rejected Najib’s claim that the case was politically motivated. “The contention by the accused that the charges against him were a witch hunt… were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence,” the judge said, adding that Najib had abused his powerful position and extensive authority over 1MDB.

Najib, 72, has been incarcerated since August 2022 after Malaysia’s top court upheld an earlier corruption conviction for illegally receiving funds from a 1MDB unit. His original 12-year sentence in that case was later halved by a pardons board.

During the verdict, the judge said evidence showed Najib had an “unmistakable bond and connection” with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, who acted as Najib’s “proxy and intermediary” in 1MDB dealings. Low, charged in the United States for his alleged central role in the scandal, denies wrongdoing and remains at large. Najib has maintained he was misled by Low and 1MDB officials, insisting that money deposited into his accounts were donations from the Saudi royal family. However, Judge Sequerah dismissed this defence as “implausible,” rejecting letters presented by Najib as uncorroborated and likely forgeries. “The irresistible conclusion is that the Arab donation narrative is not meritorious,” the judge said, ruling that the funds were derived from 1MDB.

The verdict comes days after a court rejected Najib’s bid to serve his sentence under house arrest, a decision that has reignited tensions within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s governing coalition. Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), had campaigned against Anwar in the 2022 election but later joined his alliance to form a government after a hung parliament.

Some UMNO leaders criticised the rejection of house arrest, while others expressed anger over social media posts by members of Anwar’s coalition celebrating the decision. Anwar has urged calm, calling on all sides to respect the court’s ruling with “full patience and wisdom.”