Former Prime Minister Najib Razak convicted of money laundering and abuse of power in second 1MDB-linked corruption case, sentenced to 15 more years
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What happened
Malaysia's High Court found former Prime Minister Najib Razak guilty on December 26, 2025 of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering tied to more than $700 million that flowed into his personal bank accounts from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund, sentencing him to 15 additional years in prison and fines/asset recovery of 13.5 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion). This is a second conviction stemming from the 1MDB scandal, to run after his earlier 1MDB-related sentence. Najib served as Prime Minister from April 3, 2009 to May 10, 2018 and has maintained his defense throughout years of litigation.
By the numbers (2)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Figures
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- Al Jazeera
Malaysia's ex-PM Najib found guilty of money laundering, abuse of power
1 source
- PBS NewsHour
Malaysian court sentences ex-Prime Minister Razak to 15 years and big fine in corruption case
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Response
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (1)
On December 29, 2025, former Prime Minister Najib Razak's lawyer filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal against his conviction and sentence in the RM2.28 billion 1MDB case (15 years' jail and a RM11.4 billion fine, with a default term of 40 years' jail), The Star reported. Source ↗