Politics1 min read

Courts grant ex-Malaysian PM Najib house arrest after $12m royal pardon

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The transfer order took immediate effect after being delivered to Kajang prison, where the former prime minister has been held since his 2022 embezzlement conviction linked to the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. His political party, the United Malays National Organisation, crowdfunded 50 million ringgit to satisfy his fine while his bank accounts remain inaccessible. Although his current house arrest is set to last until 2028, he faces an additional 15-year prison term and a separate multi-billion-dollar penalty that he is currently appealing.

Key points

  • The transfer to home detention creates significant political pressure for Prime Minister…: The transfer to home detention creates significant political pressure for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who leads an anti-corruption platform.
  • Najib faces another 15-year prison sentence and a 2.5 billion dollar fine from a separate…: Najib faces another 15-year prison sentence and a 2.5 billion dollar fine from a separate 1MDB trial currently on appeal.
  • It remains uncertain if the former prime minister will return to prison after his schedul…: It remains uncertain if the former prime minister will return to prison after his scheduled house arrest concludes in 2028.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Najib transitions to house arrest after his party UMNO raises $12m fine via crowdfunding.

Malaysia’s jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been allowed to transfer to house arrest after his party paid a $12m fine following a royal pardon.

Najib’s lawyer, Farhan Shafee, told reporters on Friday that he has been given the order and will be “delivering that order to the Kajang prison right now”.

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Najib, who denies any wrongdoing, has been held in jail since 2022, following his conviction for corruption and embezzlement of billions of dollars connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state investment fund he co-founded while in power from 2009-2018.

His house arrest could start on Friday if everything…

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