Malaysia’s graft-convicted former Prime Minister Najib Razak was granted royal clemency and will be allowed to sit out the remainder of a six-year jail term in house arrest, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim‘s legal department said on Friday.
King Sultan Ibrahim “has granted a conditional pardon” to Najib, “allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest” until August 23, 2028,” lawyers said.
The conditional pardon is subject to the payment of 50 million Malaysian ringgit ($12.3 million; €10.7 million).
Billions stolen from state funds
Najib, 73, is currently serving a six-year term in prison for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal, named after 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state investment fund he co-founded while serving as prime minister from 2009 to 2018.
In 2020, Najib was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving $10.3 million funneled into his bank accounts. He began his sentence in 2022.
In a separate case, Najib was convicted in December 2025 of abuse of power and money laundering, accused of misappropriating nearly $569 million from 1MDB. He was fined $2.8 billion and sentenced to another 15 years in prison, which is to take effect after his existing sentence ends. He is currently appealing that conviction.
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It was not specified on Friday whether the clemency applied to the first conviction affects the second case.
Royal clemency and the law
It is not the first time Najib has received a pardon. Under the previous king in 2024, Najib saw the sentence from his first conviction of 12 years cut in half, and fines reduced. At the time, he had sought unsuccessfully to secure house arrest.
Najib’s legal team has not yet commented on Friday’s decision, and it is not immediately clear when the former leader will be released into house arrest.
Investigators allege the 1MDB scandal involved at least $4.5 billion in state funds that were stolen and laundered by top executives and associates of Najib. Najib has always denied wrongdoing and has tried to frame himself as a scapegoat.
The embezzlement scandal sparked national outrage in Malaysia and led to the 2018 election defeat of Najib’s party United Malays National Organization (UNMO), which had governed the country since independence from Britain in 1957.
The scion of a prominent political family, Najib was long seen as untouchable. He still holds political clout in Malaysia, and Friday’s royal clemency could lead to questions over equal treatment under the law.
Edited by: Natalie Muller
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