Ex-Malaysian prime minister guilty of money laundering, abuse of power

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been convicted of corruption tied to multibillion-dollar looting of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The nation’s High Court found Najib, 72, guilty on Friday on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to about 2.2 billion ringgit ($810 million) channelled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund.

Najib’s defence team was expected to submit arguments before sentencing later on Friday.

Najib denied any wrongdoing and maintained the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains at large.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Najib’s claim of a Saudi donation was “incapable of belief”. Four letters purportedly from the Saudi donor were forged and evidence clearly showed the funds originated from 1MDB, he said.

He rejected defence arguments that Najib was an unwitting victim, duped by former 1MDB officials and Low. Witness testimonies had pointed to an “unmistakable bond” between Najib and Low, who had played a pivotal role in the scandal and operated as “the proxy, the conduit, the intermediary and the facilitator” for Najib in 1MDB, the judge said.

The judge noted that Najib failed to take steps to verify the origin of the massive funds nor took action against Low. Instead, Najib used the money despite its suspicious origins and also took steps to protect his position, including by removing the then-attorney general and anti-corruption chief investigating the case, he said.

“The accused was no country bumpkin,” said Sequerah, who took five hours to read the ruling. “Any attempt to paint the accused as an ignoramus who was hopelessly unaware of the misdeeds going around him must therefore, fail miserably.”

The ruling marked a major milestone in one of the world’s largest financial scandals, which rippled across global markets and triggered investigations in the United States and other nations.