Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's 1MDB conviction is upheld by a Malaysian court

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's guilty judgement on corruption charges stemming from a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was maintained by a Malaysian court on Wednesday, putting an end to his political return dreams.

 

Najib is appealing a 12-year prison sentence and a $50 million punishment given by the Kuala Lumpur High Court last year for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering, which is one of five corruption trials he is facing.

 

Although Najib pled not guilty and has continuously denied wrongdoing, the court determined he had illegally taken roughly $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of now-defunct 1MDB.

 

The appeal was keenly watched because there were concerns that ruling party figures facing criminal charges may be granted leniency after Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), was re-elected to power in August.

On Twitter, opposition member Wong Chen remarked, "This is a momentous decision with clear political implications."
"This judgement indicates that if a quick election is called early next year, Najib will be unable to run."

Appellate Court
On the conviction and sentencing, Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil stated he concurred with the high court.

The judge stated, "We dismiss the appeal on all seven charges and affirm the conviction on all seven charges."

 

Judge Abdul Karim agreed to Najib's plea to be released on bail again pending the appeal, and the sentence was suspended.

Shafee Abdullah, Najib's lawyer, told the court that the former Prime Minister would appeal the verdict to Malaysia's highest court, the Federal Court.

After the verdict, Deputy Prosecutor V. Sithambaram warned reporters that Najib's appeal to the Supreme Court might take up to nine months.

 

Najib, who was dressed in a black suit, showed little expression as the verdict was read out and was periodically spotted taking notes during the hearing.

Authorities in the United States and Malaysia estimate that $4.5 billion was taken from 1MDB, with more than $1 billion ending up in Najib's personal accounts.

Najib is facing 42 criminal charges and five trials, one of which being the SRC case.

He has clout within his own party, which was ousted three years ago amid massive allegations of corruption.

He's also considering a political comeback, telling Reuters in September that he hasn't ruled out running for re-election to Parliament, which would need his conviction being overturned.