Najib found guilty on all 25 charges in 1MDB case, including money laundering & abuse of power

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of four charges of abuse of power, the Malaysian high court ruled on Dec. 26.

He was also found guilty on 21 charges of money laundering, comprising five charges of using proceeds of illegal activities, seven charges of transferring proceeds of illegal activities, and nine charges of receiving proceeds of illegal activities.

While the full sentencing has not yet been delivered, the new charges could see him face maximum jail terms of between 15 and 20 years on each charge, as well as fines of up to five times the value of the alleged misappropriations, according to Reuters.

This will be on top of his ongoing six-year sentence in prison for a separate conviction in the SRC International case, for which he initially received a 12-year sentence.

Trial

In his biggest and second trial relating to the 1MDB scandal that saw his imprisonment in 2020, Najib faced 25 charges in total for receiving RM2.28 billion (S$723 million) from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Four charges pertain to corruption for abusing his position as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman more than a decade ago, while 21 charges pertain to money laundering.

Middle East donations

While Najib claimed that the funds received were donations from Middle East dignitaries, the High Court rejected four Arab donation letters presented by his defence team that would legitimise this claim, calling them "forgeries", New Straits Times reported.

The judge pointed out that neither the government nor any political party had issued any receipts to acknowledge the "donation", making it difficult to sustain.

Relationship with Jho Low

The court also found that Najib and Malaysian fugitive businessman Jho Low had an "unmistakable bond", contrary to being mere acquaintances as they had claimed.

Low had acted as the principal orchestrator and Najib's proxy in 1MDB's affairs, the court ruled, citing the testimony of a former 1MDB CEO.

Calling Najib "no country bumpkin", the presiding judge dismissed any claims that he was unaware of the embezzlement taking place.

It would also be "pure fantasy" to believe that 1MDB subordinates colluded with Low behind Najib's back, unless they thought the orders came from the former prime minister, the court added, suggesting that Najib had masterminded the entire scheme.

The judge also cited photographic evidence of Najib on holiday together with Jho Low to show that the two were personally close.

Najib had previously apologised for mishandling the scandal while in office, but has consistently denied wrongdoing, accusing 1MDB officials and Low for misleading him on the source of the funds.

In 2020, he was found guilty on seven charges pertaining to the transfer of US$10 million (S$13.8 million) into his personal bank accounts, leading to a 12-year prison term that was later halved by the Agong (Malaysia's king) at the time.

His bid to serve the remainder of the sentence under house arrest was also dismissed this week on Dec. 22.

Top image via Reuters