Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak found guilty in biggest 1MDB trial

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been convicted by the court in his second major trial revolving around the biggest multi-billion 1MDB scandal.

According to the Kuala Lumpur High Court verdict, Najib Razak was found guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering over the illegal transfer of about 2.2 billion Malaysian ringgit from 1MDB.

Prosecutors claim that the ex-prime minister used his high-ranking government position to steal hefty amounts of money.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said in his verdict, “The contention by the accused that the charges against him were a witch hunt and politically motivated were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence against him that pointed towards the accused having abused his own powerful position in 1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him.”

The judge has yet to announce the verdict over the sentencing of Razak as he was found involved in the massive embezzlement.

Under the highly-anticipated court ruling, Najib Razak could face maximum jail terms of between 15 and 20 years on each charge. He could also face the fine up to 5 times the worth of alleged corruption.

Being a chairman of the 1MDB board, Razak was also accused of taking money from the Malaysian sovereign fund and putting it into his own personal bank accounts over ten years ago.

According to Malaysia and US investigators, at least $4.5 billion was also taken from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state fund Najib co-founded in 2009.

Previously, Najib was also convicted for 12 years in 2020 for misappropriating $9.9 million. Later, his sentence was reduced to 6 years.

Throughout the years, Najib has consistently refuted the claims of any wrongdoing.

This corruption trial is considered one of the biggest to date as it directly involved huge sums of money and 1MDB authorities.

The verdict will also prove an acid test for the government's stability as the ruling could strain ties in PM Anwar’s government.

The Asia Research Institute’s Welsh told Al Jazeera, “This is a test of Malaysia’s judiciary, and it’s a test of political will to allow this to continue, especially given that the party involved is also part of the government.”