Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was found guilty on Friday of abuse of power in the largest trial linked to the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The court has yet to announce the full verdict details and sentencing.
Investigators in Malaysia and the United States say at least $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the state fund, which Najib co-founded in 2009 while in office. Prosecutors allege that more than $1 billion flowed into accounts linked to Najib. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Najib faces four corruption charges and 21 counts of money laundering over the alleged receipt of more than 2.3 billion ringgit ($569 million) from 1MDB-linked entities. He has consistently argued that the case was politically motivated.
Reading the verdict, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah rejected that claim. He said the evidence clearly showed that Najib abused his authority over 1MDB and exercised extensive control over the fund’s operations.
Najib now risks prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years on each charge, along with fines of up to five times the value of the alleged misappropriated sums.
The verdict delivered by judge Collin so far has been damning against 72 year old Najib Razak . His supporters said they weren’t surprised. All eyes are on details of the sentencing if Najib is convicted. Judge Collin resumes delivering the verdict on 25 charges at 3 pm. https://t.co/iEmp7MQ84X pic.twitter.com/AK3HSIkV7F
— Melissa Goh (@MelGohCNA) December 26, 2025The 72-year-old former leader has been behind bars since August 2022, after Malaysia’s top court upheld an earlier corruption conviction involving a 1MDB unit. A pardons board later reduced that 12-year sentence by half.
Links to Jho Low and disputed donations
During the trial, the court examined Najib’s relationship with fugitive financier Jho Low, whom prosecutors describe as a central figure in the scandal. Judge Sequerah said the evidence showed an “unmistakable bond” between Najib and Low, who acted as his proxy in key 1MDB dealings.
Najib has claimed that the funds deposited into his accounts were donations from the Saudi royal family and that Low and other officials misled him. The judge dismissed that defence as implausible, ruling that the letters cited as proof were unverified and likely forged.
The court concluded that the money originated from 1MDB and not from foreign donations. The verdict comes days after another court rejected Najib’s request to serve his sentence under house arrest. That decision renewed political tensions within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government.
Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), opposed Anwar in the 2022 election but later joined his coalition after a hung parliament. Some UMNO leaders criticised the court’s refusal of house arrest, while others objected to celebratory reactions from government allies online.
Anwar has urged restraint, calling on all sides to respect the court’s decisions with patience and wisdom as Malaysia confronts one of the most consequential corruption cases in its history.
