Najib Razak set for house arrest after party pays fine
Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s fine has been paid as part of the terms of a royal pardon, his political party said on Friday, paving the way for his transfer to house arrest.
Najib, prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was found guilty of corruption in relation to the embezzlement of billions of dollars tied to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state investment fund he co-founded while in power. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Malaysia’s king agreed in September to allow jailed Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, in a second royal pardon over his conviction.
It was not immediately clear when the transfer to Najib’s home would take place, and an aide to the former premier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the terms of the pardon, Najib was required to pay a 50 million ringgit fine, which his political party, the United Malays National Organisation, said had been paid after a fundraising campaign.
“UMNO has completed all payment processes to the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning,” it said.
In the 1MDB scandal, more than $1 billion allegedly made its way into accounts linked to Najib, who says he has been made the scapegoat for a complex, globe-spanning scheme that siphoned away as much as $4.5 billion in funds, according to US investigators.