Malaysia’s top court upheld its verdict against ex-prime minister Najib Razak who was ordered to begin his prison sentence after losing a final appeal against the ruling.
Ex-prime minister of Malaysia Najib Razak was ordered to begin his 12-year prison sentence yesterday after the country’s top court rejected his final appeal against convictions delivered two years ago, according to a «Reuters» report citing the ruling.
In July 2020, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison alongside a 210 million ringgit ($47 million) fine after being found guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from former 1MDB unit SRC International.
Four More Trials
Malaysian authorities claim that Najib illegally received more than $1 billion traceable to 1MDB but the former prime minister has consistently denied wrongdoing, stressing that he was misled by fugitive financier Jho Low and other 1MDB officials into believing the funds were donations from the Saudi royal family.
The latest convictions are just part of one out of five trials that Najib faces over 1MDB-linked accusations. In the four other trials, he faces a number of charges, such as audit tampering, involving funds at 1MDB and other government bodies. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
