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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has filed an appeal against his latest corruption conviction linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, his lawyer confirmed on Tuesday. The appeal challenges both the guilty verdict and the sentence handed down last week, which added 15 years to Najib’s existing prison term.
Najib, 72, has been incarcerated since 2022 after being convicted in an earlier graft case connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the state investment fund he co-founded in 2009 while serving as prime minister. Prosecutors allege that approximately $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund, making the 1MDB scandal one of the world’s largest financial corruption cases.
According to U.S. and Malaysian investigators, more than $1 billion of the stolen funds were traced to accounts linked to Najib. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and maintains his innocence.
On December 26, a Malaysian court found Najib guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering. The charges were related to the illegal receipt of about 2.3 billion ringgit (approximately $568 million) originating from 1MDB. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison and imposed a record fine of nearly $3 billion. The additional prison term is set to begin after Najib completes his current six-year sentence in 2028, although it may be reduced by up to one-third for good behavior.
Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Shafee, confirmed via text message that the appeal was filed late Monday night. In addition, Najib has also appealed a separate court decision rejecting his request to serve the remainder of his current sentence under house arrest, according to local media reports.
The rulings have intensified political tensions within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s governing coalition. Members of Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), have expressed dissatisfaction with the court decisions. UMNO had campaigned against Anwar in the 2022 general election but later joined his coalition after the vote resulted in a hung parliament.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for restraint, urging all parties to respect the judicial process and accept the court’s decisions with patience and wisdom.
