KUALA LUMPUR – The High Court here has become the focal point for those eager to hear a crucial ruling in the high-profile case involving former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who faces charges related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.
Najib, 71, will find out today whether he will be ordered to enter his defence or acquitted of four charges of using his position to obtain RM2.3 billion in bribes from 1MDB, as well as 21 money laundering charges involving the same amount.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Court of Appeal judge) is scheduled to begin reading the decision at 9 a.m.
Media practitioners from various news organizations gathered at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex as early as 7 a.m. to cover the case. Najib faces four charges of using his position to gain RM2.3 billion in bribes from 1MDB funds at the AmIslamic Bank Berhad branch on Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon, between February 14, 2011, and December 19, 2014.
Najib is charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same act. The former finance minister faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of either five times the value involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
For the 21 money laundering charges, Najib is accused of committing the offenses at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and August 30, 2013. These charges fall under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum fine of RM5 million or a prison term of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
Najib has been serving a sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.