KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday (28 July) found former premier Najib Razak guilty of all seven charges involving the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International, a unit connected to state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
The charges include three counts of criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code, three counts of money laundering under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti Money Laundering, Anti Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA), and one count of abuse of power under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti Corruption (MACC) Act in relation to the SRC International funds.
Judge Mohamad Nazlan Ghazali reasoned that Najib had failed to establish reasonable doubt and that prosecutors were instead able to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Najib had misused the funds for his personal gain.
Najib faces a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine for each of the criminal breach of trust counts and abuse of power cases. The money laundering charges carry a maximum jail sentence of 15 years, as well as a fine of five times the amount or whichever is higher for each charge.
Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution stipulates that a person may be disqualified for being a member of either House of Parliament if they have been convicted and sentenced to a jail term exceeding a year or to a fine over RM2,000 and have not received “a free pardon”.
This means that Najib will be barred from candidacy should a snap election be held in the near future. However, he remains as the Member of Parliament for Pekan at present, and will retain his seat even through the appeal process.
