Malaysia court finds ex-PM Najib Razak guilty in 1MDB scandal trial

The Malaysian High Court has declared former Prime Minister Najib Razak guilty on multiple counts linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.

In the second major trial related to the scandal, the Kuala Lumpur High Court announced the verdict on Friday, ruling the 72-year-old Najib guilty on all 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power in the 1MDB.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal is an international financial crime involving the theft of more than $4.5 billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), between 2009 and 2015.

The court declared that the charges against the now-disgraced former PM were neither a witch hunt nor politically motivated, adding, “His contention was debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence”.

The final sentence is yet to be announced; each charge carries a jail sentence between 15 and 20 years.

In 2020, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison for misappropriating about $9.9m in 1MDB funds. The sentence was later commuted to six years.

The conclusion of the second major trial against the former PM marks a major step in action against those responsible for 1MDB scandal. 

The trial spanned over four years and included testimonies from 76 witnesses including the accused PM himself.