PUTRAJAYA, Dec 26 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was found guilty by the High Court today of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving nearly RM2.2 billion in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case.

Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, the Federal Court judge who previously presided over the 1MDB trial at the High Court, delivered his judgment to a packed courtroom after finding that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Najib’s conviction comes after the court delivered a lengthy judgment, taking nearly four and a half hours to read, following a High Court trial that lasted over 300 days across more than six years.  

Under the four charges of abuse of power, Najib is accused of using his three positions — as prime minister, finance minister and chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers — to obtain financial benefits totalling RM2.22 billion for himself.

Sequerah also convicted Najib on 21 counts related to the alleged laundering of illicit funds through the latter’s personal AmIslamic Bank account.

Following the convictions, the court will proceed to sentence Najib, with the 72-year-old former prime minister facing both jail time and substantial fines.

Regardless of the outcome, the decision will not affect Najib’s current imprisonment.

This is because he is currently serving a jail sentence in a separate case involving the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Najib is now about halfway through his six-year jail term, which will end in August 2028 or August 2029, depending on whether he pays the RM50 million fine imposed in the SRC case.

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