Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will serve the remainder of his sentence for abuse of power under house arrest until August 23, 2028. This decision was made by the Malaysian pardons board, chaired by the King, following a conditional pardon. Najib, 73, was convicted of corruption in connection with the embezzlement of billions of dollars tied to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund, which he co-founded.
Najib's house arrest is conditional on him paying a fine of RM50 million ($12.26 million). This fine is part of a reduced sentence granted by the previous king in January 2024. If Najib fails to comply with any of the stipulated conditions, the conditional pardon will be revoked, and he will be required to immediately serve the remainder of his sentence in prison.
Najib began serving a 12-year jail sentence in August 2022 after being found guilty of various charges, including criminal breach of trust and money laundering, related to the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary, into his personal accounts. His initial fine was RM210 million. Despite the pardon, he still faces another lengthy jail term in a separate 1MDB-related case, where he was sentenced in December 2025 to 15 years in prison and fined RM11.38 billion for abusing power and money laundering involving RM2.2 billion misappropriated from 1MDB.
