Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak Set for House Arrest After Fine Paid
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will serve his remaining sentence under house arrest after his party paid a required $12.32 million fine under a royal pardon.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to be transferred to house arrest after his political party paid a multi-million-dollar fine required under a royal pardon. Reuters reported the development on Friday, though a specific date for his release to home detention has not yet been announced.
Razak, who led Malaysia from 2009 to 2018, was convicted in connection with the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB state fund corruption scandal. Investigators in the United States estimate that up to $4.5 billion was siphoned from the fund, with more than $1 billion allegedly ending up in accounts linked to the former prime minister. Razak has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that he was made a scapegoat in the complex financial scheme.
Royal Pardon and Fine Payment
In September, the King of Malaysia approved a royal decree allowing Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest. The commutation was conditional upon the payment of a 50 million ringgit fine, equivalent to approximately $12.32 million.
The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Razak's political party, announced that it had successfully raised and paid the full fine amount to the Supreme Court in Kuala Lumpur. UMNO stated that the funds were gathered through a dedicated fundraising campaign completed on Friday morning.
Background and Legal Fallout
Razak was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted on seven charges related to SRC International, a former unit of the 1MDB fund. His downfall marked a historic turning point in Malaysian politics, culminating in UMNO's electoral defeat in 2018 for the first time since the country's independence in 1957.
