3-4-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is seeking court approval to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence under house arrest.
On Monday, Najib filed an application for a judicial review, citing an addendum issued by the country’s former king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, on Jan 29. Najib claimed that this addendum, allowing his prison sentence to be reduced to house arrest, was not publicly disclosed at the time.
According to Najib, a Pardons Board meeting chaired by Sultan Abdullah on the same date had decided to halve his jail term to six years. This decision was confirmed by the Malaysian government in February.
The move was among the last acts of Sultan Abdullah’s five-year reign, which ended in January.
Najib, currently serving a 12-year sentence, would be eligible for release in August 2028, with the fines imposed on him reduced from 210 million ringgit (US$10.6 million) to 50 million ringgit, as per the pardons board’s ruling.
Najib’s conviction stems from corruption charges related to the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Investigations by US and Malaysian authorities have revealed that approximately $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, with over $1 billion allegedly channeled into accounts linked to the former prime minister.
