Malaysian court upholds ex-premier Najib’s graft conviction

By EILEEN NG
Associated Press

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s Appeal Court has upheld the conviction and 12-year jail sentence of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak linked to the massive looting of the 1MDB state investment fund that brought down his government in 2018. Najib was found guilty by a high court in July 2020 of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering for illegally receiving 42 million ringgit ($9.9 million) from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. The ruling was part of the first of several corruption trials against Najib that are linked to the 1MDB scandal, which sparked investigations in the U.S. and several other countries. Najib said he was disappointed and would appeal to the country’s top Federal Court.