Malaysia’s top court has affirmed the conviction of Najib Razak, former prime minister of the country, on charges bordering on a multi-billion dollar graft.
On July 28, 2020, Najib, who was in office from 2009 to 2018, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for abuse of power, and 10 years in jail for each of six counts of money laundering and breach of trust.
The sentences were expected to run concurrently.
The former prime minister had obtained a stay on the sentencing pending the outcome of his appeal.
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In December 2021, the appeal court dismissed his appeal and affirmed the conviction on all sentences.
Najib was however allowed to remain free while he appeals to the federal court, Malaysia’s highest court.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, a five-member panel of the federal court said it found the high court’s decision correct and that Najib’s appeal was “devoid of any merits”.
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“This is a simple and straightforward case of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering,” Maimun Tuan Mat, the chief justice, said.
“We are unable to conclude that any of the findings of the high court, as affirmed by the court of appeal, were perverse or plainly wrong so as to warrant appellate intervention.
“We agree that the defence is so inherently inconsistent and incredible that it does not raise a reasonable doubt on the prosecution case.”
Najib was ordered to start serving his sentence and pay a 210 million Malaysian ringgit ($47m) fine.
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The former prime minister was accused of diverting an estimated 42 million ringgit ($9.88m) from SRC International, a division of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a sovereign wealth fund set up in 2009, into his personal bank accounts.
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