Malaysia’s High Court has ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to defend himself against corruption and money laundering charges related to the sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, in a fresh blow to the politician who is already in jail over the scandal.
The charges levelled against Najib are valid and the prosecution has established a case against him, Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah told a courtroom in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. He also found all prosecution witnesses — which included former Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz — to be credible.
The court decision shows Najib’s longstanding legal troubles are far from over, even after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed a public apology from him.
Najib, 71, was accused in 2018 of four counts of abusing his position to obtain 2.3 billion ringgit ($524 million) of 1MDB funds while in power. He is also accused of 21 counts of money laundering.
Najib’s cases are a political headache for Anwar, who must balance competing interests to stay in power. The jailed former leader retains significant influence in the United Malays National Organisation party, which is part of Anwar’s coalition government formed after a hung parliament in 2022. But any concessions made to Najib could weaken the prime minister’s credibility and support base. Anwar has denied interfering in the court cases.
Justice Sequerah said in his ruling on Wednesday that Najib was in a prime position to exercise control over 1MDB. Najib had also been warned multiple times that something may be amiss, he said. Najib, in his response to the decision, said he would defend himself against the charges.
“We feel extremely disappointed,” Najib’s lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, later told reporters outside the courthouse. “But we are not giving up, we are going to fight this case and we are more determined because of this decision.”
The trial will resume on Dec 2, and the defence plans to call up 11 witnesses, he said.
The former premier remains behind bars for separate crimes related to 1MDB. He has sought to serve the rest of his jail sentence at home after it was halved to six years in January by a royal pardon, though a Malaysian court dismissed his petition.
He apologised in a letter last week for allowing the scandal to unfold while he was prime minister, but denied any criminal involvement in the scheme. He also said he did not realise money sent to his bank accounts came from 1MDB funds.
“I am still in deep shock knowing now the extent of the wretched and unconscionable shenanigans, and illegal things that happened in 1MDB,” he said in the letter read out by his son. “I deeply regret what has taken place.”