A Malaysian court has rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s application to halt a 15-year prison sentence linked to a separate corruption case involving the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
High Court Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nordin ruled on Wednesday that the application lacked exceptional circumstances that would justify suspending the sentence.
Najib, 73, has been incarcerated since 2022, when Malaysia’s highest court upheld his conviction for corruption and money laundering connected to the alleged misappropriation of billions of dollars from 1MDB, a state investment fund he established while serving as prime minister in 2009.
The former premier has consistently denied wrongdoing in the scandal.
The latest ruling comes weeks after Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim, granted Najib a conditional pardon in a separate case, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, subject to payment of a 50 million ringgit fine, equivalent to approximately $12.25 million.
Following the pardon, Najib’s legal team approached the Kuala Lumpur High Court seeking to suspend an additional 15-year prison term imposed after his conviction in December 2025 in another 1MDB-related corruption case. The additional sentence is scheduled to take effect after his current term, which is expected to end in August 2028 under the house arrest arrangement.
The court’s decision means Najib’s attempt to halt the additional sentence has been unsuccessful, despite the separate clemency granted to him.
