• Court dismisses ‘Saudi donation’ defence as implausible; convicts Najib Razak on 25 counts of abuse of power, money laundering
• Prosecutors say funds were used to buy yachts, real estate, films; judgement strains PM Anwar’s coalition
PUTRAJAYA: Jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was convicted on Friday on all charges of abuse of power and money laundering, in the biggest trial yet tied to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, a ruling with political repercussions for both him and the current government.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah found Najib, 72, guilty on all four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering.
The verdict addresses the alleged embezzlement of massive sums from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) while Najib served as prime minister, with the court ruling that the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to his culpability.
“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,” Sequerah said in his verdict.
“It pointed towards the accused having abused his own powerful position in 1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him.”
Najib could face maximum jail terms of between 15 and 20 years on each charge, alongside fines up to five times the value of the misappropriated funds. He has been imprisoned since August 2022 after Malaysia’s top court upheld a conviction in a separate corruption case involving a 1MDB subsidiary.
Prosecutors successfully argued that Najib illegally received billions traceable to the fund. During the proceedings, the defence maintained Najib was misled by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, into believing the funds were donations from the Saudi royal family.
Judge Sequerah dismissed this defence as “implausible.” He characterised letters allegedly proving the Arab donations as probable forgeries not corroborated by evidence, calling the narrative a “tale that surpassed even those from the Arabian Nights.”
“The irresistible conclusion is that the Arab donation narrative is not meritorious,” Judge Sequerah said. “The evidence pointed unmistakably to the fact that the monies were, in fact derived from 1MDB funds.”
The judge added that testimony revealed Najib had an “unmistakable bond and connection” with Low, rejecting the claim that the former premier was a victim of rogue subordinates. Instead, the court found Low acted as Najib’s proxy in running the fund’s affairs.
Origin, plunder of 1MDB
The saga began with the creation of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2009, a sovereign fund designed to bolster economic development, co-founded by Najib soon after assuming office.
He chaired its advisory board until 2016. However, US and Malaysian investigators allege the fund became a vehicle for industrial-scale theft.
Between 2009 and 2013, 1MDB raised billions of dollars in bonds ostensibly for investment projects. In what the US Department of Justice described as its largest-ever kleptocracy investigation, authorities say at least $4.5 billion was diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies.
Investigators say the siphoned funds were used to purchase high-end real estate, a private jet, a superyacht, jewellery and to finance the 2013 Hollywood film The Wolf of Wall Street.
At least six countries, including the US, Singapore and Switzerland, launched financial probes implicating high-ranking officials and global financial institutions. In 2020, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $3.9bn to settle investigations into its role in underwriting bond sales for the fund.
A tangled legal web
This conviction is the latest in a series of legal battles for Najib. In July 2020, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving roughly $10 million from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. A pardons board halved that sentence to six years in 2024.
Separately, Najib was acquitted in March 2023 of tampering with a 1MDB audit report.
In November 2024, a court granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company, though prosecutors may recharge him later.
The ruling adds strain to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s governing alliance, which relies on the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Najib’s party. Tensions have risen recently after a court denied Najib’s bid to serve his remaining sentence under house arrest.
Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2025
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