Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has asked a court to suspend a 15-year prison sentence linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal, his lawyer said Friday, following a royal pardon in a separate case.
Najib, 73, has been imprisoned since 2022 after being convicted of corruption and money laundering connected to funds taken from 1MDB, the state investment fund he helped establish while prime minister. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim last week granted Najib a conditional pardon that would allow him to serve the remainder of his original sentence under house arrest until his expected release in August 2028. The arrangement requires Najib to pay a 50 million ringgit ($12.27 million) fine.
However, Najib faces another 15-year prison term after being convicted in December in a separate 1MDB-related corruption case. That sentence is due to begin after his house arrest period ends.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court is scheduled to rule on October 14 on Najib’s request to stay the additional sentence while he appeals the conviction, according to his lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Shafee said Najib could potentially be released the same day if the court grants the stay and the required fine is paid. However, Najib’s legal team has yet to receive official documents detailing the conditions of the royal pardon and house arrest arrangement.
The lawyer also said Najib has been unable to pay the fine because many of his assets remain frozen by Malaysian authorities. Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has launched a fundraising campaign among supporters to help secure his release.
U.S. and Malaysian investigators have said at least $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, including roughly $1 billion that entered accounts linked to Najib.
Najib has apologized for his handling of the 1MDB scandal but continues to maintain his innocence, arguing that others misled him about the source of money transferred into his accounts.


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