Najib Razak, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, on Friday (last Friday) successfully obtained permission to serve the remainder of his sentence at home by paying a fine of 50 million ringgit (equivalent to 12 million dollars). This action followed his conviction for his role in financial corruption related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) national wealth fund, one of the largest financial heists in the world.
Details of the fine payment
His party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), announced that all procedures for the payment of the fine to the High Court of Kuala Lumpur have been completed. The party also stated that the special solidarity fund created to raise public donations for the payment of the fine has concluded due to the lack of need for further collection.
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Najib's lawyer, Farhan Shafee, confirmed that he has received the documents related to his transfer to home and will submit the house arrest order to Kajang prison. In response to a question about the possibility of Najib being transferred home on Friday, he said: "If the process goes according to plan, this will happen."
Conviction and its consequences
According to the court ruling, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July 2020 for illegal withdrawals from a former 1MDB subsidiary named SRC International. However, the pardon board later reduced this sentence by half and lowered the fine to 50 million ringgit. This sentence is set to end in August 2028. A few days after a judge rejected his request for house arrest last December, he was sentenced to an additional 15 years in a separate case related to 1MDB. He has appealed this ruling, and the process will only begin after the current term ends. He has also been fined 11.4 billion ringgit due to this scandal.
Prosecutors stated that Najib abused his positions as Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the 1MDB Advisory Board, transferring large sums of money to his personal accounts. U.S. and Malaysian judicial authorities estimate that about 4.5 billion dollars from this fund was stolen through shell companies, which were used to purchase luxury properties, a yacht, and artworks. Jho Low, known as the mastermind behind this scheme, remains at large.
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