A Malaysian court on Friday found Najib Razak guilty of multiple charges of abuse of power and money laundering related to the billion-dollar looting of Malaysia Development Berhad, known as the 1MDB investment fund.
The latest verdict comes on top of a 2020 trial in which the politician was found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering for his role in the case.
The jailed former prime minister has offered an apology for mishandling the scandal but has consistently denied any other wrongdoing, insisting he was misled by fund officials and fugitive businessman Jho Low, once considered a close ally of Najib.
Court rejects Najeeb’s defense as ‘pure fiction’
Reading the verdict on Friday, the judge noted the “unmistakable bond” between Najib and Low.
“It should be appreciated that the accused… was at the forefront of the decision-making process in relation to 1MDB’s affairs,” Judge Colin Lawrence Sequerah said.
“To entertain the belief that officials subordinate to him in the hierarchy would willingly and knowingly conspire against the then sitting Prime Minister, including Jho Low, who did not even hold an official position in 1MDB, would be stretching the imagination into the realm of pure imagination.”
Investigators have claimed that Najib had received millions of dollars from 1MDB.
The court also rejected the story presented by Najib’s defence, which insisted that the defendant believed the funds in his account were donations from the Saudi royal family. Judge Sikerah said Najib would have all the necessary resources to verify this claim while serving as prime minister.
What does this mean for the Malaysian government?
This decision may have far reaching political consequences. This is likely to test the survival of the ruling coalition led by current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which also includes Najib’s UMNO party.
Najib is already serving a sentence on charges related to the theft of billions from 1MDB. He was due to be released from prison in 2028 after his original 12-year sentence was halved.
Tensions within the coalition had already risen this week when a Malaysian court rejected Najib’s demand to serve the remainder of his sentence at home. Many UMNO leaders condemned the verdict and complained about Anwar’s supporters celebrating the verdict.
On Monday, UMNO youth leader Akmal Saleh called on his party to break the alliance and instead serve as a “respectable opposition”.
Prime Minister Anwar has insisted that he does not interfere in Malaysia’s judiciary. At the same time, Anwar, who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, is also facing pressure from his own camp over the acquittal of Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansoor.
What is the 1MDB scam?
Najib launched 1MDB when he took office in 2009 to promote economic growth and investment.
But according to the US Justice Department, senior officials and their associates stole more than $4.5 billion (€3.84 billion) from the fund between 2009 and 2013. The money was laundered through layers of bank accounts in the United States and other countries.
Most of that money was deposited into Najib’s bank accounts.
Goldman Sachs was also involved in this case, which had raised billions of dollars for the fund. Two of its former bankers were jailed after facing charges of bribing officials, making false statements to officials and misappropriating funds.
The 1MDB scheme is considered one of the biggest corruption and embezzlement scandals in living memory.
Edited by Louis Olofse