Malaysian Court Rejects Najib’s 1MDB Sentence Stay

The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Oct. 14 rejected Najib Razak's application to stay a 15-year prison sentence and RM11.38 billion fine in an RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption case. Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nordin ruled that no special circumstances justified a stay. "Therefore on final merit, the application is accordingly dismissed," the judge said. Najib arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the hearing. His lawyers had argued medical concerns, legal issues and appeal delays as grounds; the judge held that the gravity of the offenses and public interest weighed more heavily against granting the application. The 15-year term stems from a December 2025 conviction in a separate 1MDB case and is due to begin after a house-arrest term ends in August 2028. Najib has been imprisoned since 2022 after Malaysia's top court upheld a corruption and money laundering conviction. Last month King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar granted a conditional royal pardon in a separate case, allowing the remainder of that sentence to be served at home if Najib pays an RM50 million fine (about $12.2 million). UMNO has launched a fundraising campaign to pay the fine. Investigators have said at least $4.5 billion was allegedly stolen from 1MDB, with about $1 billion allegedly going to accounts linked to Najib. Najib was prime minister from 2009 to 2018; 1MDB was founded in 2009.