Jailed former Malaysian PM Najib Razak granted house arrest

Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak, jailed for his role in the country’s 1MDB corruption scandal, has been granted house arrest subject to paying a $12 million fine, officials said on Friday.

Najib, 73, was jailed for his role in one of the largest-ever global plunders of a sovereign wealth fund, the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim “has granted a conditional pardon... allowing him (Najib) to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until 23 August 2028,” lawyers from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office said.

The conditional pardon was “subject to the payment of a fine of 50 million Malaysian ringgit ($12.3 million),” Legal Affairs Division officials said in a statement.

Najib “must comply with all set conditions. If he fails to comply with any of these terms, the conditional pardon will be automatically revoked, and he must immediately serve the remainder of his sentence in prison,” the statement said.

A Malaysian judge late last year rejected an original request to allow Najib to serve the rest of his time at home.

Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in July 2020 in a first trial over vast sums of money siphoned from a former 1MDB subsidiary called SRC International Sdn Bhd.

But a pardons board later halved the term, and his fine was reduced to 50 million ringgit.

His sentence in this case is scheduled to be completed by August 2028.

Abused his positions

Days after Najib’s December bid for house arrest was turned down, the former prime minister was again sentenced to another 15 years behind bars in a separate trial, also linked to the 1MDB graft scandal.

Najib was also fined 11.4 billion ringgit for his role in the corruption scandal, which took place more than a decade ago.

He is currently appealing the 15-year sentence, which is set to begin only after the six-year sentence is completed.

The son of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, Najib was groomed for leadership from a young age but fell from power spectacularly as public anger mounted over the corruption scandal.

Investigations under successive governments have ensnared him and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, in graft allegations since his loss in the 2018 elections.

Prosecutors said Najib abused his positions as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman to move vast sums from the fund into his personal accounts.

According to investigators, proceeds from the fund were used to bankroll high-end real estate, a luxury yacht and valuable artworks, including a Monet and a Van Gogh.

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Source: TRT