Putrajaya, Malaysia. Imprisoned former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay 13.5 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion) in fines and asset recoveries after being convicted in his largest corruption trial linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund.

The High Court found Najib, 72, guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving more than $700 million that prosecutors said was funneled into his personal bank accounts from the fund.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah sentenced Najib to 15 years in prison for the abuse of power charges and five years for each money laundering count, with all sentences to run concurrently, resulting in a total of 15 years. The new sentence will begin after Najib completes his current prison term in an earlier 1MDB-related case, the judge said.

Sequerah also imposed fines totaling 11.4 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion) for the abuse of power convictions and ordered the recovery of an additional 2.08 billion ringgit ($514 million) in assets under money laundering laws. Najib faces additional prison time if he fails to pay.

Najib’s lawyer, Mohamed Shafee Abdullah, said the judge had “made so many blunders” and confirmed the defense would appeal. Dressed in a blue suit, Najib stood calmly as the sentence was read before slumping back into his chair in the dock.

Najib Denied Wrongdoing

The ruling marked a major milestone in one of the world’s largest financial scandals, which reverberated across global markets and triggered investigations in the United States and several other countries.

Najib denied wrongdoing, insisting the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by Low Taek Jho, widely believed to be the scandal’s mastermind and who remains at large.

Sequerah rejected that claim as “incapable of belief,” saying four letters purportedly from a Saudi donor were forged and evidence clearly showed the money originated from 1MDB.

The judge also dismissed defense arguments that Najib was an unwitting victim, saying testimony revealed an “unmistakable bond” between Najib and Low, who acted as “the proxy, the conduit, the intermediary and the facilitator” in the 1MDB scheme.

Najib failed to verify the source of the massive funds or take action against Low, Sequerah said. Instead, he used the money despite its suspicious origins and moved to protect his position by removing the attorney general and anti-corruption chief who were investigating the case.

While Najib later returned most of the money to an offshore account, the judge said the move was staged to conceal the funds’ illicit origin.

“The accused was no country bumpkin,” Sequerah said in a ruling that took five hours to read. “Any attempt to paint the accused as an ignoramus who was hopelessly unaware of the misdeeds going around him must therefore fail miserably.”

Earlier Convictions

Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, is already serving a prison sentence after being convicted in a separate 1MDB-linked case that led to his government’s defeat in the 2018 election.

In 2020, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit. He began serving that sentence in August 2022 after losing a final appeal, becoming Malaysia’s first former leader to be jailed.

In 2024, the Pardons Board halved his sentence and sharply reduced his fine.

Billions Looted from 1MDB

Najib established the 1MDB development fund shortly after taking office in 2009. He chaired its advisory board and wielded veto power as finance minister while serving as prime minister.

Between 2009 and 2014, more than $4.5 billion was looted from the fund by top executives and associates of Najib, according to the U.S. Justice Department. The money was laundered through countries including the United States, Singapore and Switzerland and used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases such as hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry.

Then–U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the scandal “kleptocracy at its worst.” Goldman Sachs later paid billions in fines for its role in raising funds for 1MDB.

Long viewed as untouchable due to his political pedigree, Najib fell from power after public outrage over the scandal led to the historic 2018 election defeat of his ruling party, which had governed Malaysia since independence in 1957.

Earlier this week, Najib failed in a bid to serve his sentence under house arrest. The High Court ruled that a rare royal order issued by Malaysia’s former king was invalid because it did not meet constitutional requirements. His lawyers said they plan to appeal.

Originally due for release in August 2028 after his sentence reduction, Najib now faces a significantly longer stretch behind bars.

Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, was sentenced in 2022 to 10 years in prison and a heavy fine in a separate corruption case. She remains free on bail pending appeal.