Friday 26 / December / 2025
A Malaysian court on Friday found Najib Razak guilty on multiple charges of abuse of power and money laundering tied to multibillion-dollar looting of the Malaysia Development Berhad, better known as the 1MDB investment fund.
The latest verdict comes on top of a 2020 trial which also found the politician guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering for his role in the affair.
The jailed former prime minister has offered an apology for mishandling the scandal but consistently denied any other wrongdoing, insisting he had been misled by fund officials and fugitive businessman Jho Low, once considered a close associate of Najib.
Court rejects Najib's defense as 'pure fantasy'
On Friday, the judge reading the verdict noted the "unmistakable bond" between Najib and Low.
"It must be appreciated that the accused... stood at the very apex of the decision-making process with regard to matters in 1MDB," Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said.
"To entertain the belief that officers subordinate to him in the hierarchy would willingly and knowingly conspire against a sitting prime minister of the day, together with Jho Low who did not even hold an official position in 1MDB, would be to stretch the imagination into the realms of pure fantasy."
Investigators have claimed Najib received hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB.
The court also dismissed the narrative presented by Najib's defense, which insisted that the defendant believed funds in his account were donations from the Saudi royal family. Judge Sequerah noted that Najib, while serving as prime minister, would have had all the necessary resources to verify this claim.
What does this mean for the Malaysian government?
The ruling could have far-reaching political consequences. It 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 time for charges linked to the theft of billions from 1MDB. He was due to leave jail in 2028 after his original 12-year term was cut in half.
