Najib faces 1MDB verdict as Malaysian political ground shifts
Judge to give decision in first case relating to failed state fund in decision that could have a major political impact. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - After nearly 16 months, dozens of witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence, a Malaysian judge will on Tuesday deliver his verdict on whether former Prime Minister Najib Razak is guilty of corruption in the first of a series of trials related to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from state fund 1MDB, in a decision that could have major political ramifications.
Najib faces seven charges in relation to SRC International, a unit of 1MDB, and allegations that millions of dollars ended up in his personal bank accounts and were used
to shop at luxury stores, pay for home renovation projects and provide funding for the component parties of his then-ruling coalition.
If found guilty, he could face decades in prison and substantial fines. He would also become the first Malaysian prime minister to be convicted in a criminal court.
“It’s a test for Muhyiddin’s [the current prime minister’s] government,” said Bridget Welsh, an expert on Malaysia and honorary research fellow with the University of Nottingham’s Asia Research Institute Malaysia. “It will also send a very important signal about whether leaders will be held to account for what they do while in office, as well as the
penalties for elites abusing the system.” Najib might be facing more than 40 charges in relation to 1MDB and spending most of his days in court, but he remains an influential figure in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which was ousted in May 2018 amid popular anger about 1MDB, but is once again the biggest party in the coalition after Muhyiddin Yassin - the deputy Najib sacked over 1MDB - emerged as prime minister in March. UMNO leaders were seen at court and hundreds of people turned out to show their support despite coronavirus restrictions, as Judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali, who began his legal career at the Securities Commission and Malaysia’s