Malaysia's Ex-PM Najib Razak Set to Leave Prison After Paying Fine

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to leave prison to serve the remainder of his graft sentence at home, after his political party on Friday paid a 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million) fine required under the terms of a royal pardon. Najib, 73, has been imprisoned since August 2022, when Malaysia's top court upheld his conviction in his first graft trial linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of state investment fund 1MDB. Malaysia's king in September granted Najib a rare clemency, allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. After paying the fine, he could be free in August 2028. The house arrest applies only to his reduced six-year sentence in the first trial. It doesn't cover a separate 15-year prison sentence imposed in December 2025 for corruption and money laundering in a second major trial tied to the 1MDB scandal. He's appealing that sentence. Asyraf Wajid Dusuki, secretary-general of the United Malays National Organization, said in a statement that the party had collected sufficient funds through its donation drive for Najib. He said the party had completed payment of the fine at the High Court earlier Friday. The payment fulfills a key condition attached to the royal pardon. The timing of his transfer from prison to house arrest was not immediately clear. Police were stationed at his house in Kuala Lumpur early Friday and the road leading to his home was blocked. Najib set up the 1MDB development fund shortly after he took office in 2009. Investigators say at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib's associates through layers of bank accounts in the U.S. and other countries. The funds were allegedly used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases that included hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry. He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 210 million ringgit ($51.5 million) in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) channeled into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. In January 2024, the Pardons Board halved his sentence to six years and reduced his fine to 50 million ringgit. King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar subsequently granted Najib a conditional pardon, paving the way for house arrest until Aug. 23, 2028, provided he paid the fine. If Najib fails to win the appeal in the second trial, he could go back to prison, after the current sentence ends. Public outrage over the 1MDB scandal led to the historic 2018 election defeat of the ruling coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957. Despite his conviction, Najib still wields influence in his party, UNMO, which is now part of a new government that took power in 2022.