The former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has lost his appeal against a corruption conviction and 12-year jail term. However, he is to remain free for the time being even after the judge branded his actions a “national embarrassment”.
Last year Najib was found guilty on all counts in the first of numerous trials related to his ransacking of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund.
His first trial related to the transfer of 42 million ringgit (£7.5 million) from a former 1MDB fund to his bank accounts.
He remains free on bail and denies wrongdoing, although the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction on charges including money-laundering and abuse of power.
Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil dismissed the defence’s reasoning that Najib’s actions were in the national interest. “There is no national interest here, only national embarrassment,” the judge told the court in the administrative capital Putrajaya. Najib had “dishonestly misappropriated” the money, he added.
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He rejected Najib’s defence that he had believed the cash was a donation from Saudi royalty, saying there was “no evidence” for the claim. Najib followed proceedings online after a member of his legal team tested positive for the coronavirus.
Najib, 68, was “disappointed” with the verdict and said: “I did not know, nor did I ask nor did I order the transfer of 42 million ringgit to my account.”
He and his associates face more trials accusing them of stealing billions of dollars from the investment fund. Najib himself faces 35 charges in four criminal trials connected to the 1MDB scandal, in which he is accused of personally receiving about £1 billion. If he loses his next court battle he will be jailed and barred from holding political office.
Despite his legal troubles Najib — who remains an MP — has been mounting a political comeback, campaigning for his party and representing himself as a man of the people who champions the concerns of the ethnic Malay Muslim majority.
