KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian court has sentenced former Prime Minister Najib Razak to 15 years in prison for money laundering and abuse of power, finding the 72-year-old guilty on all charges.
The court said Najib transferred about 2.2 billion ringgit from state-owned investment fund 1MDB to his personal account. Judge Colin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the allegations were politically motivated and that the evidence presented was “irrefutable and irrefutable” and established a clear abuse of power.
The prosecution alleged that Najib misused his position as prime minister, finance minister and chairman of the 1MDB advisory board to embezzle funds. The court sentenced him to 15 years each on four counts of abuse of power and five years each on 21 counts of money laundering; all sentences will run concurrently.
Najib was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison in a corruption case in 2020, which was later reduced to six years. The latest verdict is significant because it puts the embezzlement of state funds charges directly on trial.
Source: Al Jazeera