A Malaysian appeals court on Wednesday upheld former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s conviction for corruption in the first case related to the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB.
Najib, whose term as prime minister ended with defeat at the 2018 elections, was found guilty of diverting an estimated 42 million ringgit ($9.88m) from SRC International, a division of 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts in July last year, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The appeals court said it agreed with the High Court’s verdict.
“We dismiss the motion and affirm the conviction on all sentences,” Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil said, announcing the unanimous decision of the three judges who made up the appeals panel in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.
The 68-year-old had been allowed bail pending appeal, and the court agreed he should remain free while he appeals to the Federal Court, Malaysia’s highest court.
The seven charges in the SRC case involve allegations of abuse of power, several counts of money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
Credit: Aljazeera.com
