Malaysia’s Former PM Convicted in Corruption Case

A Malaysian court has found former Prime Minister Najib Razak guilty on fresh charges linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, deepening one of the most consequential corruption scandals in modern global finance.

The verdict, delivered on Friday, covers multiple counts of abuse of power and money laundering connected to the long-running 1MDB scandal. 

It compounds Najib’s earlier 2020 conviction, when he was found guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and laundering illicit proceeds tied to the same fund.

In delivering the ruling, the judge rejected the defense argument that Najib had been misled by subordinates and by fugitive financier Jho Low, describing a clear and decisive link between the former leader and the fund’s decision-making at the highest level.

Investigators have previously alleged that hundreds of millions of dollars were channeled from 1MDB into Najib’s personal bank accounts.

The court also dismissed claims that the funds were legitimate political donations from Saudi sources, noting that Najib, as sitting prime minister at the time, had ample authority and resources to verify their origin.

The latest conviction carries significant political ramifications. It threatens to intensify strains within Malaysia’s governing coalition led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which includes Najib’s United Malays National Organization party. Najib is already serving a prison sentence related to earlier 1MDB convictions, though his original 12-year term was reduced, with a projected release date in 2028.

Launched in 2009 to drive national development, 1MDB instead became the center of what international investigators describe as one of the world’s largest corruption scandals. US authorities say more than $4.5 billion was siphoned from the fund between 2009 and 2013 and laundered through complex financial networks spanning multiple countries.

Friday’s ruling reinforces Malaysia’s judicial stance against high-level corruption and underscores the enduring legal, political and economic fallout of the 1MDB affair, a case that continues to shape public trust and governance in the country.