THE legal team of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has filed a notice of appeal against his recent conviction, sentencing, and multimillion-ringgit fine in what remains the country’s most high-profile corruption case.
Senior counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed to The Edge that the notice of appeal was filed on the evening of Monday, 29 December.
“The notice had been filed last night,” he said.
In criminal proceedings, appeals must be lodged within 14 days of the verdict, after which a case management session will be scheduled to transfer the appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Last Friday, presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah delivered a verdict spanning nearly 12 hours, finding Najib guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering, collectively involving RM2.27 billion of funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Najib was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and fined RM11.38 billion, with non-payment carrying an additional ten-year custodial term. He was further ordered to pay a recoverable sum of RM2.081 billion, or face another two years and six months in prison.
The 72-year-old former prime minister had previously filed a notice of appeal against a separate decision that denied him the chance to serve the remainder of his sentence for another graft case under house arrest.
His legal team, led by Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, reiterated their intention to challenge the High Court’s latest ruling.
The filing of this appeal marks the next legal step in the protracted 1MDB saga, one of Malaysia’s most significant corruption scandals, which has had far-reaching political and financial implications. - December 30, 2025
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