Najib Razak, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, has been jailed and will begin serving a 12-year sentence after his appeal was rejected by the top court. The charges surround a corruption scandal involving a state-owned wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad. He was convicted in July 2020, but had been out on bail during the appeal process.
Najib continues to deny any wrong doing, however, the court denied both his appeal and his request to delay his sentence. He was found guilty of 7 counts, resulting in 12 years of jail and a 210m ringgit fine. He was charged due to a transfer of 42m ringgit from SRC International into his personal accounts. The defense claimed he was misled by financial advisers and believed the funds were donated by the Saudi royal family and were not collected from the state fund.
Read More: Malaysia’s ex-PM starts jail term after final appeal fails
