Najib Razak convicted on all 25 charges in landmark 1MDB trial, prosecutors seek maximum jail and fines

  PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was found guilty on 26 December 2025 of all 25 charges in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial, marking a major milestone in Malaysia’s largest corruption case.

The Federal Court, sitting at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, convicted Najib of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving more than RM2 billion in 1MDB funds.

The case is Najib’s second conviction and is widely regarded as the most significant, as it directly involved 1MDB entities and substantially larger sums than earlier proceedings.

In delivering his verdict, Federal Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case on all charges.

Court finds Najib the key decision maker

According to the prosecution, Najib abused his roles as prime minister, finance minister and chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board to siphon approximately RM2.3 billion, or about US$568 million, into his personal accounts.

Judge Sequerah described Najib as the “apex decision maker” in 1MDB, ruling that fugitive financier Low Taek Jho acted as his conduit or agent in carrying out the scheme.

The judge cited testimony showing that Low functioned as a “go-between” in the management of 1MDB, executing instructions that reflected Najib’s directions on the fund’s operations.

Sequerah also highlighted evidence of a close personal relationship between Najib and Low, including the latter’s role in arranging family holidays involving Najib, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and their children.

He said these interactions undermined any claim that Najib was unaware of Low’s role, concluding that attempts to portray the former prime minister as ignorant of wrongdoing “failed miserably”.

Failure to act and efforts to protect interests

The court further noted that Najib did not lodge any police report regarding the alleged embezzlement of 1MDB funds, despite being in positions of significant authority at the time.

Such an omission, the judge said, could only be construed as condonation, given Najib’s considerable powers and political experience.

Sequerah also pointed to the disbandment of a special task force investigating 1MDB in July 2015, alongside the removal of key officials, as evidence of efforts to protect Najib’s interests.

The defence’s argument that the funds were legitimate donations from Saudi royalty was firmly rejected by the court.

The judge ruled that alleged donation letters tendered as evidence were forgeries and that there was no credible documentary link between the monies deposited and any Saudi royal figure.

He concluded that the funds were unmistakably derived from 1MDB, dismissing the so-called Arab donation narrative as lacking merit.

Najib’s claim that the charges were politically motivated was also rejected, with the court citing overwhelming evidence of funds being siphoned from a sovereign wealth fund into accounts linked to Low and Najib.

Sequerah noted that the 1MDB scandal had international ramifications, with related cases pursued in several jurisdictions, including the United States.

Background of the trial and earlier convictions

Najib was first charged in September 2018, with the trial beginning in August 2019 and spanning 303 days before closing submissions ended on 4 November 2025.

This was the last of five criminal trials Najib faced following the defeat of his Barisan Nasional-led government in the 14th general election.

The 72-year-old is already serving a six-year prison sentence and a RM50 million fine in the SRC International case, following a reduction by the Pardons Board.

Earlier this week, Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest was dismissed, leaving him incarcerated at Kajang Prison.

Appeal and sentencing submissions

Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed that an appeal will be filed against the latest ruling, with mitigation submissions to be made at a later stage.

The defence urged the court to impose concurrent sentences and to backdate any jail term, citing Najib’s age, health, academic pursuits and past public service.

Prosecutors, however, are seeking the maximum penalty, with lead prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib urging consecutive sentences of up to 20 years per charge.

The prosecution is also seeking fines totalling up to RM11 billion approx.US$2.72 billion), or five times the value of the alleged graft, warning that failure to pay would result in additional imprisonment.

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Kamal Baharin Omar said the sentences must serve as a strong deterrent, given the scale of losses and long-term damage caused by the 1MDB scandal.

The 1MDB affair, which emerged in 2015, was a watershed moment in Malaysian politics and contributed to the end of Umno’s six-decade rule in 2018.

Day-long proceedings and delivery of verdict

Court proceedings on Friday began at about 9am and continued throughout the day, with Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah reading out his decision in stages.

The hearing was adjourned briefly in the afternoon for Friday prayers before resuming at about 3pm, when Sequerah delivered his findings convicting Najib on all 25 charges.

After a 30-minute recess, proceedings resumed at 5.43pm, with submissions exchanged by both the prosecution and defence until about 8pm.

Judge Sequerah then stood the court down to deliberate on sentencing.