(Reuters)
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 – A Malaysian court on Wednesday denied former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s request to suspend a 15-year jail term in connection with the 1MDB scandal, despite expectations he might be transferred to house arrest following a pardon in a separate case.
Najib has been in prison since 2022 after being convicted of graft and money laundering linked to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state fund he co-founded while premier in 2009. He has denied wrongdoing.
In December, Najib was also convicted of abuse of power and money laundering in a separate case and handed a 15-year prison term and $2.8 billion in fines, which he asked to be suspended pending his appeal.
His lawyers argued he was in declining health and that the fines imposed on him were too large to pay, but Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nordin said there were no special circumstances warranting a stay of that sentence.
“The gravity of the offense is a more important public interest consideration, which this court must have regard to,” the judge said in dismissing the request.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he would file a fresh application for a stay at the Court of Appeal.
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