"The nation's High Court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than 700 million dollars channelled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund. Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah sentenced Najib to 15 years in prison for each charge of abuse of power, and five years for each of the money laundering charges. The sentences are to run concurrently which means he will face another 15 years in prison."
"The judge said Najib's claim of a Saudi donation was "incapable of belief". Four letters purportedly from the Saudi donor were forged and evidence clearly showed the funds originated from 1MDB, he said. He rejected defence arguments that Najib was an unwitting victim, duped by former 1MDB officials and Mr Low. Witness testimonies had pointed to an "unmistakable bond" between Najib and Mr Low, who had played a pivotal role in the scandal and operated as "the proxy, the conduit, the intermediary and the facilitator""
Najib was convicted on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering over more than $700 million channelled from the 1MDB fund into his personal accounts. The court sentenced him to 15 years for each abuse-of-power charge and five years for each money-laundering count, with sentences to run concurrently, resulting in a 15-year new term to follow an existing sentence. The judge imposed an 11.4 billion ringgit fine and ordered recovery of 2.08 billion ringgit in assets, with additional prison time if payments are not made. Najib denied wrongdoing, claiming a Saudi political donation, but the judge found donation claims implausible, cited forged letters and credited witness testimony linking Najib to Low Taek Jho, who remains at large. Najib’s lawyers plan to appeal.
Read at Irish Independent
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