Malaysia’s King has approved a request allowing jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, the government said Friday.
The decision comes four years after Najib was convicted in connection with the multibillion-dollar financial scandal involving state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Department said King Sultan Ibrahim had agreed to grant Najib a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home until August 23, 2028.
Najib, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was convicted of corruption and abuse of power linked to the 1MDB scandal. He has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that he was made a scapegoat for a complex international financial scheme.
More than $1 billion allegedly flowed into accounts linked to Najib in connection with the 1MDB scandal. US investigators have estimated that as much as $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund.
Najib, now 73, was initially sentenced to prison following his conviction and has remained incarcerated while pursuing legal challenges and seeking clemency.
The decision to allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home marks a significant development in the long-running 1MDB saga, one of the world’s largest financial scandals.
COMMENTS