Ex-PM Najib goes to jail after losing graft appeal

PUTRAJAYA (AP):

Malaysian ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak began his 12-year prison sentence on Tuesday after losing his final appeal in a graft case linked to the looting of the 1MDB state fund, with the top court unanimously upholding his conviction and sentence.

Najib, Malaysia’s first former leader to be imprisoned, was whisked away to Kajang prison on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur after the verdict. Opposition leaders, activists and many citizens hailed the court’s swift ruling, calling it a victory for Malaysians who voted in 2018 to oust his government and bring Najib to justice.

The five-member Federal Court panel said it found the High Court’s decision was correct and that Najib’s appeal was “devoid of any merits.”

“This is a simple and straightforward case of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering,” said Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat, who read out the verdict.

“We are unable to conclude that any of the findings of the High Court, as affirmed by the Court of Appeal, were perverse or plainly wrong so as to warrant appellate intervention. We agree that the defence is so inherently inconsistent and incredible that it does not raise a reasonable doubt on the prosecution case,” she said.

The court ordered Najib, who has been out on bail pending appeals since his sentence in 2020, to begin his time behind bars. He also must pay a 210 million ringgit (US$47 million) fine.

1MDB was a development fund that Najib set up shortly after taking power in 2009. Investigators allege at least US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates. Najib was found guilty in 2020 of seven charges of corruption for illegally receiving US$9.4 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

Najib, 69, has maintained his innocence. Just before the verdict, he stood up in the dock to make a statement protesting the top court’s series of refusals last week to postpone the appeal hearings.

Najib said he felt he was “unfairly treated” and that his case has been rushed through. He pointed out that a leaked verdict by the Federal Court had been posted on a website and said if this was true, it would be the a “judicial misconduct of the highest order”.