Imprisoned Malaysian ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 15 years and a big 13.5 billion ringgit ($3.3 billion) in fines and assets after being convicted in his corruption trial tied to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB sovereign fund.
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 channeled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB sovereign (state investment) 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 new sentence will run after his current term for an earlier 1MDB case ends, the judge said.
Justice imposed a total fine of 11.4 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion) for the abuse of power charges. In addition, he also ordered another 2.08 billion ringgit (514 million) in assets to be recovered from Najib under money laundering laws. If Najib fails to pay, he faces even more years in prison.
Source: AP, PBS
