Malaysian Ex-Prime Minister Fails To Overturn 12-Year Sentence For Embezzlement - Reports

Malaysian former Prime Minister Najib Razak has failed to overturn the verdict in the scandalous corruption case linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) national investment fund and has been sent to prison for 12 years, Singapore-based newspaper The Straits Times reported on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2022) Malaysian former Prime Minister Najib Razak has failed to overturn the verdict in the scandalous corruption case linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) national investment fund and has been sent to prison for 12 years, Singapore-based newspaper The Straits Times reported on Tuesday.

In 2020, a Malaysian court sentenced the 69-year-old Najib to 12 years in prison and a $46 million fine for illegally receiving around $10 million from the 1MDB subsidiary unit. In December, the ex-official attempted to overturn the verdict in the court of appeal but failed.

On Tuesday, the country's Federal Court upheld the sentence on seven counts, including abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach, among others, and ordered him to begin a 12-year prison sentence, the newspaper reported.

According to his daughter-in-law, Najib has been transported to Kajang Prison, to the south of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Najib and his lawyers reportedly attempted to adjourn the proceedings, citing a lack of preparation, but the judges rejected their requests. The defense also failed to recuse the chief justice of the federal court over the social media post of her husband, who criticized Najib. The ex-prime minister's team argued that the spouse's opinion could have compromised the chief justice's judgment.

The 1MDB embezzlement scandal was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the former prime minister's party the United Malays National Organization in the 2018 general elections.