(ANSA) – PUTRAJAYA, AUG 23 – The highest court in Malaysia has confirmed the sentence of former Prime Minister Najib Razak to 12 years in prison for corruption in the 1MDB financial scandal. “We believe that the appeal is without any basis. We believe that the conviction and the sentence are safe,” said Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat on behalf of a panel of five judges. “Based on the above, it is our unanimous opinion that the evidence presented during the trial overwhelmingly points to guilt for all seven counts.”
The Federal Court’s decision was issued after the court dismissed a last-minute request from Najib’s lawyers to recuse the Chief Justice from hearing the case, claiming he had bias.
In July 2020, a lower court found Najib guilty of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust for the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($ 10.1 million) from SRC International, a former unit. of the state fund 1MDB, to his personal bank account. In December, an appeals court rejected his appeal, prompting him to go to the Federal Court for a final appeal.
Najib is a son of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, studied in the UK and was prepared for the post of prime minister from a young age. The final sentence on the prison sentence came four years after his party’s shock electoral defeat.
The former Malaysian prime minister was taken to jail shortly after his sentencing, a family source said.
“We were told he was taken to Kajang prison, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur,” said Nur Sharmila Shaheen, his daughter-in-law. (HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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