Malaysia’s High Court yesterday sentenced jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to 15 years in prison and ordered roughly $3.3B in fines and asset seizures over the misuse of a multibillion-dollar government fund.
The court found Najib, 72, guilty of abuse of power and money laundering from 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund he established after taking office in 2009. Authorities allege Najib and his associates siphoned over $4.5B from 1MDB between 2009 and 2014, routing funds through countries including the US, Singapore, and Switzerland. Some money was allegedly used to help finance Hollywood films, including the Oscar-nominated “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and Goldman Sachs faced billions in fines for its involvement with 1MDB. Najib, who led Malaysia until 2018, has been imprisoned since 2022 on related charges. The new 15-year sentence is set to begin after his current one ends in 2028.
Najib claims he was misled by Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, who remains at large.
I can’t be the only one who was very intrigued by what he and IMDB could have been up to for a hot second.
