Malaysian ex-PM Najib Razak found guilty in 1MDB trial: What we know

EXPLAINERThe judge is yet to deliver the complete verdict, but Najib has been found guilty of abuse of power and money laundering.Published On 26 Dec 2025Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was found guilty of abuse of power and money laundering by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in a major trial related to a multibillion-dollar scandal over the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, on Friday.What was the verdict against Najib?Najib, 72, has been found guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering linked to the illegal transfer of about 2.2 billion Malaysian ringgit ($543m) from 1MDB more than a decade ago.Each charge carries between 15 and 20 years’ imprisonment, although sentencing has yet to be announced.This was Najib’s second trial linked to the same financial scandal. His first trial for embezzlement of funds began in April 2019. In 2020, he was convicted of abuse of power, money laundering and breach of trust, and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment over the misappropriation of $9.9m in 1MDB funds. His sentence was later cut in half in a partial pardon.In all, investigators said they believe some $4.5bn was siphoned from the state-owned wealth fund into private accounts, including Najib’s. Legal proceedings for both his trials have spanned seven years and seen lawyers call 76 witnesses to the stand, including Najib himself.Najib and his supporters – dozens of whom gathered at the court on Friday – claim the charges against him are politically motivated and that he was misled by his advisers.But Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said in his verdict: “The contention by the accused that the charges against him were a witch hunt and politically motivated were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence against him that pointed towards the accused having abused ‍his own powerful position in ⁠1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him.”