Malaysia’s former PM jailed 15 more years, fined $2.8-billion in historic financial scandal

Malaysia's influential former premier Najib Razak was jailed on Friday for a further 15 years and fined $2.8 billion for power abuse and money laundering in the biggest trial of the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, a ruling that could have big political ramifications.

Malaysia and U.S. investigators say at least $4.5 billion was stolen from (1MDB), a state fund Najib co-founded in 2009 during the first of his nine years in power in the Southeast Asian country.

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More than $1 billion allegedly made its way into accounts linked to 72-year-old Najib, who was first imprisoned in 2022 in another 1MDB case and has long insisted he has been made the scapegoat for Malaysia's biggest-ever financial scandal.

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During a verdict that took five hours to deliver, high court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Najib's contention that he was repeatedly deceived by others at 1MDB was implausible, and to believe that would "stretch the imagination into the realms of pure fantasy".

On a day of reckoning for arguably Malaysia's most divisive politician, Najib was found guilty of all four counts of abuse of power and all 21 money laundering charges after a marathon legal battle that included multiple appeals and a partial royal pardon.

He sat with his head down and shoulders slumped at numerous times during the verdict reading.

The judge handed down sentences of 15 years for each count of power abuse and five years for each money laundering charge, to be served concurrently, after his current jail term ends in 2028.

Najib was ordered to pay fines of 11.39 billion ringgit ($2.82 billion), and the court said 2.08 billion ringgit in assets must be recovered from him.

Failure to pay the fine or forfeit the assets would result in additional jail time, the court ruled.

Superyacht and celebrity parties

Funds syphoned from 1MDB were used by the opulent-living Low and his associates to buy a trove of luxury assets, from a private jet and a $120 million superyacht to hotels, artworks and jewellery, and to finance the 2013 Hollywood film "The Wolf of Wall Street", U.S. lawsuits have said.

Savvy networker Low had high-profile international connections and famously attended lavish parties with A-list American celebrities, including actors and singers.