Cover image via Council on Foreign Relations
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Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the high-profile 1MDB case, in which RM2.3 billion was deposited into his bank account
Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah handed down the sentence today, 26 December, after hearing the mitigation presented by Najib's lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, reported Malaysiakini.
Below are the details of the sentence:
• 15 years in jail for each of his four abuse of power charges
• Five years in jail for each of his 21 charges of money laundering
Instead of serving a combined 165 years in jail, Sequerah ordered the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in a total jail term of 15 years for the 25 offences committed.
Additionally, the jail term will only begin after he completes his current six-year sentence in the SRC International case.
Sequerah also ordered Najib to pay a total fine of RM11.38 billion for the four abuse of power charges.
Failure to do so would result in an additional 10 years' imprisonment for each charge, amounting to 40 years in total.
Earlier, during mitigation, Shafee said his client should serve the sentence concurrently with his SRC International sentence
Shafee argued that since the offences arise from the same "factual matrix", the sentences should run concurrently to avoid multiple punishments for related wrongdoing, reported The Edge.
He also requested that any new sentence be backdated to run alongside the SRC sentence.
In asking for leniency, Shafee shared that Najib has been pursuing a PhD programme in prison with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, focusing on a thesis about Malaysia's economic transformation.
"In his mind, he is still thinking of the development of Malaysia. He's writing as a means of communicating, what is the best way for economic transformation in the country," The Star quoted the lawyer as saying.
He also addressed the pardon Najib received, stating that the main basis for the application was that Najib had not been given a fair trial. Shafee noted that the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong took this into consideration.
Shafee went on to highlight the issue of "selective accountability", pointing out that while many individuals were responsible for misleading actions in the 1MDB case, few have faced justice.
He specifically named Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Hazim Abdul Rahman, Azmi Tahir, Jasmine Loo, Datuk Amhari Effendi Nasaruddin, and Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, as being at fault.
