Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was found guilty of abuse of power and money laundering by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in a major trial related to a multibillion-dollar scandal over the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, on Friday.

What was the verdict against Najib?

Najib, 72, has been found guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering linked to the illegal transfer of about 2.2 billion Malaysian ringgit ($543m) from 1MDB more than a decade ago.

Each charge carries between 15 and 20 years’ imprisonment, although sentencing has yet to be announced.

This was Najib’s second trial linked to the same financial scandal. His first trial for embezzlement of funds began in April 2019. In 2020, he was convicted of abuse of power, money laundering and breach of trust, and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment over the misappropriation of $9.9m in 1MDB funds. His sentence was later cut in half in a partial pardon.

In all, investigators said they believe some $4.5bn was siphoned from the state-owned wealth fund into private accounts, including Najib’s. Legal proceedings for both his trials have spanned seven years and seen lawyers call 76 witnesses to the stand, including Najib himself.

Najib and his supporters – dozens of whom gathered at the court on Friday – claim the charges against him are politically motivated and that he was misled by his advisers.

But Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said in his verdict: “The contention by the accused that the charges against him were a witch hunt and politically motivated were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence against him that pointed towards the accused having abused ‍his own powerful position in ⁠1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him.”

Advertisement

What is 1MDB?

1MDB is an abbreviation used for the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Berhad is the Malay term for “public limited company”.

The fund was set up in 2009 to promote development in Malaysia through foreign partnerships and investment.

Najib, who served as both prime minister and finance minister between 2009 and 2018, was also the chairman of 1MDB.

Prosecutors claimed that Najib abused his position as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman to move large amounts of money from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund to his personal accounts more than a decade ago.

Where is Najib now?

Najib is in Kajang Prison in Malaysia’s Selangor state, having been found guilty of embezzlement in the first, separate case in 2020. His sentence was later commuted from 12 years to six years after he received a partial royal pardon.

During this second trial, which resulted in the verdict on Friday this week, investigators found that Najib used the 1MDB funds to buy his superyacht Equanimity and high-end properties, as well as to finance the production of the film, The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

What has Najib said?

Najib, who was defeated in the 2018 general election by Mahathir Mohamad, a former prime minister who had helped him come to power, has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.

In October 2024, he apologised for mishandling the scandal, but maintained that he had no knowledge of the illegal fund transfers to his personal bank account. During the trial, Najib said he believed the money he received was a donation from the late Saudi King Abdullah – a claim that the judge rejected on Friday.

Najib also claimed that he had been deceived by advisers and other officials affiliated with 1MDB, including Jho Low, a Malaysian financier alleged to be the mastermind behind the scandal but who remains at large.

“It pains me every day to know that the 1MDB debacle happened under my watch as minister of finance and prime minister,” Najib said in a letter.

“For that, I would like to apologise unreservedly to the Malaysian people.”