Najib Razak faces a total of 42 charges in five separate lawsuits involving 1MDB, and his wife is also facing charges of corruption.
Najib Razak faces a total of 42 charges in five separate lawsuits involving 1MDB, and his wife is also facing charges of corruption.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razaki The apex court unanimously lost its final appeal on August 23 in a corruption case involving the loot of 1MDB state funds. keeping your faith and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The loss means Najib will have to serve his sentence immediately, making him the first former prime minister to be jailed. He left the courthouse after the verdict and was reportedly taken to jail.
The five-member Federal Court panel said it found High Court judges were right In his decision and Najib’s appeal was “devoid of any merit”.
Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat read the verdict, “This is a simple and straightforward case of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.”
“We are unable to conclude that any of the findings of the High Court, as confirmed by the Court of Appeal, were distorted or plainly incorrect to warrant appellate intervention. We agree that the defense so is inherently inconsistent and unreliable in that it does not cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case,” she said.
The court ordered Najeeb to begin his time behind bars. He will also have to pay a fine of 210 million ringgit ($47 million).
1MDB was a development fund that was set up by Najib soon after he took power in 2009. Investigators allege that at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates. Najib was found guilty in 2020 of illegally receiving $9.4 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Najeeb, 69, has said that he is innocent and was out on bail pending his appeal. Just before the court pronounced its verdict, he stood in the dock for making a statement, which opposed the apex court’s series of refusal to adjourn the appeal hearing last week.
Najeeb said he felt he was “treated unfairly” and that his case was pursued. He pointed out that the leaked ruling by the Federal Court was posted on a website and added that if it were true, it would be “judicial.” misconduct of the highest order.”
But Justice Maimun said the appeal hearing was over as Najeeb’s newly-appointed lawyers refused to give any fresh arguments protesting the no more time for preparation.
Najeeb looked in shock after reading the verdict. He was immediately surrounded by his family and supporters.
“This is a historic moment for Malaysia, where the most senior leader has indeed now faced an unprecedented moment of political accountability,” said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asian expert at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia. “For this decision, which is the first of many cases involving this particular scandal, moving in this particular direction is indeed evidence of the rule of law in Malaysia, and to strengthen demands for the rule of law in Malaysia.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Najeeb sought Justice Maimoon’s removal from the case, citing potential bias, as her husband had made a negative Facebook posting about Najeeb’s leadership in the 2018 general elections, soon after his ouster. But the judges rejected Najeeb’s application.
The Federal Court last week rejected Najib’s request for reconsideration by a high court judge on grounds of prejudice, and refused to adjourn an appeal to give his new lawyers more time to prepare. The court also rejected the request of Najeeb’s new lawyer to withdraw from the case.
Malaysia’s first female Chief Justice Justice Maimun, who was appointed in 2019, has come under attack from Najib’s supporters on social media. Police arrested a man over the weekend for threatening to kill Justice Maimoon. Hundreds of Najeeb’s supporters gathered outside the court in a show of support.
The prison sentence will fall from the grace of Najeeb. British-educated Najib was born into the political elite of Malaysia. His father was the second prime minister of the country and his uncle the third.
The death of his father brought him into politics in 1976, becoming Malaysia’s youngest legislator at age 22, and the youngest deputy minister two years later. He became prime minister in 2009 as a reformer but his tenure was tarnished by the 1MDB scandal, which triggered investigations in the US and several other countries and led to the downfall of his government.
Najeeb faces a total of 42 charges in five separate cases involving 1MDB and his wife is also facing corruption charges.
Najeeb, who has a strong social media following, remains politically influential. His United Malaysian National Organization leads the current government after the defection of MPs led to the collapse of the reformist government that won the 2018 election.