Najib Faces Jail Until Age 90 If Appeals Fail In 1mdb Case

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FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, now 72, could remain behind bars until 2043 – when he turns 90 – following yesterday’s High Court conviction on all 25 charges in the multibillion-ringgit 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah sentenced Najib to 15 years’ imprisonment (concurrent) for four abuse-of-power charges and five years each for 21 money laundering charges, plus a staggering RM11.38bil fine.
Failure to pay any portion triggers an additional 10-year term per charge.
The court also ordered repayment of RM2.08bil, with further penalties possible for non-compliance.
Najib is currently serving a reduced sentence in the separate SRC International case, due for release on Aug 23, 2028. The 1MDB term begins immediately after.
Judge Sequerah clarified the sequencing: “All sentences are to run concurrently and only after the accused has completed his prison sentence for the SRC International Sdn Bhd fund misappropriation case.
“This is because the charges in this case and the SRC case do not involve the same transactions and are separate.”
If Najib exhausts and loses all appeals – including at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court – and cannot settle the massive fine, his total incarceration could span over two decades.
The charges stem from Najib allegedly using his positions as prime minister and finance minister to obtain RM2.3bil in gratifications from 1MDB funds deposited into his personal AmIslamic bank account between 2011 and 2014.
Legal experts say appeals are certain, potentially delaying enforcement, but the verdict underscores severe consequences for Malaysia’s highest-profile corruption case. Najib’s defence team has vowed to vigorously challenge the ruling.
The prospect of imprisonment until age 90 highlights the gravity of the scandal that rocked global finance and contributed to Najib’s political downfall in 2018. — Focus Malaysia

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