Key facts
- Najib Razak has asked a court to suspend a 15-year jail sentence for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.
- The Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide on October 14 whether to grant the stay.
- Najib received a conditional royal pardon last week, allowing for house arrest until August 2028.
- A 50 million ringgit ($12.27 million) fine is associated with the conditional pardon.
- Najib's assets remain frozen, preventing him from paying the fine.
- US and Malaysian investigators estimate at least $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB.
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has asked a court to suspend a 15-year prison sentence imposed on him for his involvement in a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal, his lawyer said on Friday. This request comes a week after he received a conditional royal pardon on a separate conviction.
Najib, 73, has been in jail since 2022 after being found guilty of graft and money laundering linked to the theft of billions of dollars from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund he co-founded. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Last week, Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his original sentence under house arrest until his expected release date in August 2028, provided he pays a 50 million ringgit ($12.27 million) fine.
However, Najib also faces an additional 15-year jail term after being found guilty in December of corruption at 1MDB, a sentence that would begin after his house arrest period ends. The Kuala Lumpur High Court is scheduled to decide on October 14 whether to grant Najib's request to stay this sentence pending an appeal against the conviction, according to his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Muhammad Shafee stated that if Najib pays the fine and is granted the stay, there is a good chance he could be released on the same day. However, the terms of the house arrest order remain unclear as Najib's legal team has not yet received official documents confirming the royal pardon. Muhammad Shafee also reiterated that Najib has been unable to pay the fine because many of his assets are still frozen by the government. Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation, has initiated a fundraising drive to help secure his release.