Ex-Malaysian PM Najib guilty of corruption
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak yesterday was found guilty of corruption over the multibilliondollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (MDB) scandal that cost him his government, and could face decades in jail.
Najib was convicted on all charges in his first trial related to the looting of sovereign wealth fund.
Billions of dollars were stolen from the investment vehicle and spent on everything from high-end real estate to pricey art, while investment bank Goldman Sachs also became embroiled in the scandal.
Anger at the looting played a large part in the shock loss of Najib’s longruling coalition in elections in 2018, and he was arrested and hit with dozens of charges following his defeat.
The verdict was a test of Malaysia’s rule of law. It came about five months after Najib’s scandal-plagued party returned to power as part of a coalition, which observers had feared could affect the outcome.
Najib is facing several 1MDBlinked trials, and the first, which began almost 16 months ago, centered on the transfer of 42 million ringgit from a former unit of the fund into his bank accounts.
The 67-year-old ex-prime minister had vehemently denied wrongdoing.
Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali, however, took apart all the arguments put forward by his defense, and found him guilty on the seven charges he faced.
“In conclusion, after considering all the evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven the case,” the judge told the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Najib looked calm and bowed his head after the verdict was read. Outside the court, hundreds of angry supporters chanted “Long life!”
The charges on Najib were one of abuse of power, three of criminal breach of trust and three of moneylaundering.
The counts of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust are punishable by up to 20 years in jail each, while the money-laundering charges are punishable by up to 15 years each.
It was not immediately clear whether the sentence would be passed later yesterday or on a later date.
Najib will likely appeal and he may not be sent to jail immediately. He had insisted that he was ignorant of the transactions from 1MDB unit SRC International.