Malaysian ex-PM Najib Razak found guilty in 1MDB trial: What we know

EXPLAINER

What resulted in Najib’s dismissal?

Najib, 72, was found guilty of 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power related to the illegal transfer of $543 million from 1MDB to 1MDB more than ten years ago.

Sentencing for each charge has not yet been announced, but each charge has a maximum sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison.

Najib’s second trial had a connection to the same financial scandal. His first investigation into money evasion proceedings started in April 2019. He was found guilty of misappropriating $9.9 million in 1MDB funds in 2020, and he was also found guilty of money laundering, breach of trust, and of abuse of power. Later, his sentence was reduced to a partial pardon.

Investigators concluded that Najib’s money was allegedly sucked from the state-owned wealth fund into private accounts, including his. Lawyers have called 76 witnesses on the stand during the course of seven years in the legal proceedings for both of his trials, including Najib himself.

Najib and his supporters, who gathered at the court on Friday, contend that his advisers misled him and that the charges against him are politically motivated.

However, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah stated in his ruling that “the accuser’s allegation that the charges against him were a witch hunt and politically motivated was refuted by the cold, hard, and unconstitutional evidence against him that suggested that the accused had abused their own powerful position in 1MDB, in addition to the extensive powers that he was given.”

Describe 1MDB.

The Malaysian Development Berhad, a sovereign wealth fund, is abbreviated as 1MDB. The Malay word for “public limited company” is “berhad.”

The fund was established in 2009 to support Malaysia’s development through partnerships and investments from abroad.

Najib, who presided over 1MDB from 2009 to 2018, was also its chairman.

More than ten years ago, the prosecution claimed that Najib abused his position as prime minister, finance minister, and chairman of the 1MDB advisory board to divert large sums of money from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund to his personal accounts.

Najib’s current location is unknown.

Najib was found guilty of embezzlement in the first separate case in 2020 and is currently imprisoned in Malaysia’s Selangor state of Kajang. Following the partial royal pardon, his sentence was later reduced from 12 years to six. He was scheduled to be released on August 23, 2028.

Investigators discovered that Najib used the 1MDB funds to purchase his superyacht Equanimity and other high-end properties as well as to finance the production of Leonardo DiCaprio’s film The Wolf of Wall Street during this second trial, which resulted in the verdict on Friday this week.

What has Najib said?

Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal, despite having been defeated by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in the 2018 general election.

He apologised for handling the scandal in October 2024, but he maintained he had no knowledge about the illegal funds transfers to his personal bank account. Najib claimed during the trial that he thought the Saudi King Abdullah had given him money, a claim the judge on Friday refuted.

Najib also asserted that 1MDB’s advisers and other personnel had defrauded him, including Malaysian financier Jho Low, who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the scandal but who is still at large.

Najib wrote in a letter that “It pains me every day to learn that the 1MDB scandal occurred while I was the prime minister and finance minister.”