MALAYSIA"S former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was yesterday sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and fined RM11.38 billion by the High Court in a landmark ruling related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
The verdict was delivered by Federal Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, sitting as a High Court judge, at 9 pm. Najib was found guilty on four counts of abusing his position to receive bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.
For each of the four charges of abusing his position, Najib received a 15-year prison sentence, while each of the 21 money laundering charges carries a maximum five-year prison term. All sentences are to run concurrently.
To recap, on the first charge, Najib was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and fined RM303,149,197.15, with an additional 10 years should the fine remain unpaid. The second charge carries a 15-year term and RM454,499,636.40 fine, also with a 10-year extension if unpaid.
For the third charge, he received 15 years’ imprisonment and a RM10,407,384,630 fine, while the fourth carries a 15-year sentence and a RM222,854,603.50 fine, each with an additional 10-year prison term if fines are not settled.
Although the sentences for all four charges run concurrently, under Section 292 of the Criminal Procedure Code, they will only commence after Najib completes his current prison term for the SRC International case.
He is presently serving six years, reduced from an original 12-year sentence, along with a RM50 million fine, for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC funds. Najib is scheduled for release from the SRC sentence on 23 August 2028.
Najib was also convicted on all 21 counts under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), receiving the maximum five-year term for each, running concurrently with the Anti-Corruption Commission charges.
“All sentences run concurrently and only after the defendant completes his prison term for the SRC International case. This is because the charges in this case and the SRC case involve separate transactions,” Judge Sequerah explained.
The court further ordered Najib to return RM2,081,476,926 under Section 55(2) of AMLA. Failure to repay this sum may result in an additional two years and six months’ imprisonment for every nine money laundering charges.
If all appeals are exhausted and the sentence upheld, Najib, now 72, could remain in prison until 2043, reaching approximately 90 years of age, should the full 1MDB sentence be served without reduction.
Najib was charged with receiving RM2.3 billion from 1MDB through AmIslamic Bank Berhad between 24 February 2011 and 19 December 2014, under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The 21 money laundering charges, committed between 22 March and 30 August 2013, were filed under Section 4(1)(a) of AMLA, with fines of up to RM5 million and imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
The prosecution team was led by Deputy Public Prosecutors Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib and Datuk Kamal Baharin Omar, assisted by Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam, Deepa Nair Thevarahan, Nadia Mohd Izhar, Najwa Bistamam, Hazmida Harris Lee, and Siti Aina Rodhiah Shikh Md Saud. Najib’s defence was led by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, assisted by Datuk Tania Scivetti, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, Wan Mohammad Arfan Wan Othman, Hartrisha Kaur Sandhu, and Naresh Mayachandran.
Najib was first charged on 20 September 2018, with the trial commencing on 28 August 2019. The high-profile case, concluding with the prosecution closing its case on 30 May 2024, spanned seven years, involved 50 witnesses, and included nine days of oral submissions.
Reflecting on the verdict, Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said, “After nearly 50 years of practising law, this may well be the first time I have lost on all charges, from the smallest to the largest.”
Despite his disappointment, Shafee confirmed that an appeal against the 1MDB verdict would be filed on Monday.
