Malaysia’s ex-Premier Najib jailed for 15 years for abuse of power, money laundering in 1MDB case

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Malaysian court on Friday sentenced former Prime Minister Najib Razak to 15 years in prison and imposed a fine of 11.3 billion Malaysian ringgits (about $2.7 billion) after he was found guilty on four charges of abusing his power and 21 counts of money laundering.

The sentence related to 2.3 billion ringgits ($568 million) from the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the state-run Bernama News reported.

The High Court's Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib’s jail term to begin in 2028, after he completes his six-year prison sentence over a case related to the SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB, according to Free Malaysia Today.

Najib, 72, has faced several trials in connection with the 1MDB scandal, as both Malaysian and US authorities allege that around $4.5 billion was embezzled from the state fund in a wide-ranging international scheme from 2009 to 2014.

He was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from 1MDB.

Najib, who served two terms as premier since 2009, is currently serving his sentence in Kajang Prison in Selangor province.

Last year, the Malaysian monarchy granted him a pardon, cutting his 12-year sentence in half.

In July, Najib applied to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, but his request was denied.