Ex-Malaysian Prime Minister To Challenge Appeal Court Verdict In 1MDB Case - Lawyer

Umer Jamshaid Published December 08, 2021 | 04:05 PM

The defense team of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will challenge in the country's Federal Court the decision by the Appeal Court, which upheld Najib's conviction linked to the massive embezzlement of money from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund, the lead lawyer said Wednesday

BANGKOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2021) The defense team of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will challenge in the country's Federal Court the decision by the Appeal Court, which upheld Najib's conviction linked to the massive embezzlement of money from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund, the lead lawyer said Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Malaysia's appeal court upheld a first-instance 12-year prison sentence against Najib, confirming the fact that three amounts totaling $9.9 million had been transferred to Najib's accounts from the accounts of the SRC International company financed by 1MDB.

"I was confident then and I am confident now in our chances. There have been cases where decisions in the High Court that have been upheld by the Court of Appeal then were thrown out by the Federal Court," Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the head of the defense team of the ex-prime minister, said, as quoted by the Star newspaper.

He added that an appeal would be filed within the statutory deadline.

In 2020, the first instance court in Malaysia sentenced 68-year-old Najib Razak to 12 years in prison on corruption charges in a series of criminal cases related to the disappearance of around a total of $4.5 billion from the 1MDB fund. Apart from Najib, a list of the main defendants included his close assistants, relatives and two senior Goldman bankers.

The 1MDB embezzlement case was being investigated simultaneously in Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Switzerland and several other countries. The international investigation has found that the money stolen from the fund was spent on luxury goods and land in different countries of the world. It was also invested in shares on stock exchanges and in the US film industry.

In addition, the 1MDB embezzlement scandal was one of the main reasons for the failure of the former prime minister's party � the United Malays National Organization � in the 2018 general elections.