Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of abuse of power and money laundering in his second major trial linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal.
A court in Putrajaya ruled that Najib misused nearly 2.3 billion ringgit transferred into his personal bank accounts in 2013, rejecting his claim that the money was a donation from Saudi royalty.
Already jailed since 2022 over an earlier 1MDB-related conviction, Najib will serve the new sentence concurrently under Malaysian law following a seven-year legal battle involving dozens of witnesses.
The verdict comes days after his bid for house arrest was dismissed and has reignited political tensions within Malaysia’s ruling coalition, while supporters continue to claim he has been unfairly targeted.
