Mon Dec 22 03:33:18 UTC 2025: Summary:

A Malaysian court rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s plea to serve the remainder of his graft sentence under house arrest, ruling a royal order to that effect invalid. Najib is currently serving a prison sentence for his role in the 1MDB scandal and is awaiting the verdict in a second trial related to the same. The scandal has had a significant impact on Malaysian politics.

News Article:

Malaysian Court Denies Najib Razak House Arrest Bid in 1MDB Scandal

Kuala Lumpur, December 22, 2025 – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s attempt to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest was rejected by a Malaysian court today. The court deemed a royal order, purportedly issued by the previous king to grant Najib house arrest, invalid and not aligned with constitutional requirements.

Najib, 72, is currently serving a sentence for his conviction related to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state fund, a scandal that brought down his government in 2018. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering, charges stemming from millions of ringgit funneled into his accounts from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. His sentence was later reduced by half by the Pardons Board.

His legal team plans to appeal the court’s decision.

Adding to Najib’s legal woes, he is also awaiting a verdict on December 26 in a second trial directly linked to the 1MDB scandal. This trial involves four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering, potentially adding up to 20 years per abuse of power charge and five years per money laundering charge to his prison sentence, if convicted.

The 1MDB scandal, where investigators allege that at least $4.5 billion was stolen and laundered, has had far-reaching consequences in Malaysia, contributing to the downfall of the long-ruling United Malays National Organization party in the 2018 elections. Despite his conviction, Najib still wields considerable influence within his party.

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