Malaysia ex-PM Najib Razak given 12 years in jail in 1MDB looting

A Malaysian court sentenced former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve up to 12 years in prison on Tuesday after finding him guilty of crimes involving the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund that brought down his government in a shocking election ouster two years ago.

Najib was calm and stone-faced as he became the first Malaysian leader to be convicted. He has vowed to appeal the verdict and took an oath in brief remarks from the dock before the sentencing that he was unaware of the graft.

Judge Mohamad Nazlan Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years in jail on one count of abuse of power, 10 years each for three counts of criminal breach of trust, and 10 years each for three counts of money laundering, as well as a fine of 210 million ringgit (USD 49.4 million). But he ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning that Najib will face up to 12 years in jail.

READ: Malaysia's mega 1MDB scandal that brought down Prime Minister Najib Razak

The judge said the sentence was ”appropriate and proportionate” taking into account that Najib had committed the crime from a “position of trust” as prime minister, his final plea and the need to deter others from committing the same crime.

The ruling in the first of his five corruption trials came five months after Najib's Malay party returned to government as the biggest bloc in an alliance that took power from the reformist government that ousted Najib's in 2018.

Analysts said the ruling would bolster the prosecution's case in Najib's other trials and would signal to the business community the Malaysia's legal system has strength in tackling international financial crimes. But others cautioned the ruling could be overturned and his political party remains in office.

"I find the accused guilty and convict the accused of all seven charges,” the judge said after spending two hours reading out an elaborate ruling.

Najib's lawyers had argued for a light sentence, saying the defence was “crippled” by the judge's refusal to delay the sentencing arguments until next week.

Prosecutors said the case had tarnished the country as a kleptocracy and sought a sentence that would remind those in high public office that “no one is above the law.”

Speaking from the dock, Najib asked the court to take into account his achievements during his nine-year tenure and gave an oath that he wasn't aware of the 42 million ringgit (USD 9.8 million) channeled into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

“I did not demand the 42 million, I did not plan for the 42 million, nor was the 42 million offered to me. There has been no evidence nor witness to this. And I also like to say that I have no knowledge of the 42 million," Najib insisted.

Some of Najib's supporters outside the courthouse cried when they learned of the verdict while others chanted “free bossku” and “long live bossku." The nickname meaning “my boss” was coined for Najib in his social media campaign to reinvent himself as a working-class leader.

Najib, 67, has vowed to fight to the end. He has said he was misled by rogue bankers and the case against him is political.

“I want justice. I want to clear my name," he wrote on Facebook late Monday. “After this, we will go to the Court of Appeal. I am ready." A scion of one of Malaysia's most prominent political families, he faces 42 charges in five separate trials.

The judge agreed with prosecutors on Tuesday that Najib had “overarching control” of SRC, failed to rebut the allegations against him and that prosecutors had established beyond reasonable doubt that Najib misappropriated money for his own use.

“The conviction would serve as a solid foundation for the prosecution in ensuing IMDB-related trials,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with Singapore's Institute of International Affairs.

He said the ruling also would strengthen the credibility of current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, even though he now relies on Najib's party for support. Muhyiddin was fired as Najib's deputy five years ago to the date of Tuesday's verdict for speaking out on the 1MDB scandal. Najib's party is the biggest bloc in the current Malay nationalist alliance that has governed since March with a shaky, wafer-thin majority in parliament.

The ruling was “absolutely” good for Malaysia, said analyst Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate with University of Nottingham Malaysia.

“I think that there is a sense of euphoria among the citizens that justice is being served, among the majority of Malaysians,” Welsh said.