BANGKOK – A Malaysian court on Tuesday found Najib Razak, the country’s former prime minister, guilty of corruption on charges stemming from the disappearance of $ 4.5 billion from a government investment fund he once controlled.
The trial, the first of several involving the theft of funds from the 1 Berhad Malaysian Development Fund, was seen as evidence of whether the new Malaysian government, led by Mr. Najib’s allies, would uphold the rule of law or The stain of the political scandal that brought him down two years ago would try to remove him.
Najib was found guilty on all seven counts of abuse of power, breach of trust and money laundering, but experts said the verdict could be reversed on appeal.
The lost money was tracked by prosecutors to the purchase of a mega-yacht and a painting by Picasso, as well as an investment in the Hollywood blockbuster “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Approximately $ 1 billion of the money ended up in Mr. Najib’s personal bank accounts, creating a national scandal that led to the impeachment of his party, the United National Organization of Malaysia, in elections two years ago.
The court rejected Mr. Najib’s defense that the robbery was carried out without his knowledge by Jho Low, a wealthy Malaysian businessman accused of planning the crime and who remains an international fugitive.
Najib, 67, still faces dozens of additional charges and at least two more trials. Many of the charges against him carry a sentence of up to 20 years.
But Najib remains a member of Parliament, and his party, popularly known as UMNO, returned to power in February, improving the chances that a day will never go behind bars.
In this trial, Najib faced seven counts of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving $ 9.8 million transfers from SRC International, a former unit of the investment fund commonly known as 1MDB.
Mr. Najib’s defense attorneys claimed that he was the victim of a scam and that they did not know that the money from the government fund had been deposited into his personal account.
The court also rejected the argument that Mr. Najib received the money as a gift from a member of Saudi royalty and that he was unaware of the balance in his own account. “It would be extraordinary if the accused as then prime minister and finance minister did not know,” said Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali, who delivered the verdict and presided over the 14-month trial in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
James Chin, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania and a Malaysian political expert, said the guilty verdict was likely to be reversed on appeal.
“People should not be celebrating, because in the Malaysian context, many of the sentences in these political cases are reversed in the appeals court,” he said. “I hope Najib appeals and will probably win the appeal. In the long term, I hope Najib will get away with it while UMNO is in power. ”
Mr. Chin noted that UMNO has been in power for all but 22 months in the past six decades and, as a result, has been responsible for appointing almost all of the country’s judges.
In May, prosecutors dropped the money laundering charges against Najib’s stepson, Hollywood producer Riza Aziz, who was accused of receiving $ 248 million in government funds.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” producer, Mr. Riza, was allowed to leave with $ 83 million under the terms of the agreement with the new attorney general, Idrus Harun.
Last week, the new government and Goldman Sachs reached a $ 3.9 billion settlement on the company’s role in the scandal. The previous government had requested fines of more than $ 2.7 billion and had accused more than a dozen executives of fraud. Under the agreement, criminal charges against the bank and the executives were dismissed.
Mahathir Mohamad, 95, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, came out of retirement in May 2018 to defeat Najib and UMNO, the party that Mahathir once led.
After the election, authorities raided property owned by Mr. Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansour, and confiscated more than $ 270 million in cash, jewelry, luxury handbags, tiaras, and other valuables. Ms. Rosmah also faces corruption charges.
Mr. Mahathir pledged to seek justice against Mr. Najib and his cronies, but his coalition suffered internal divisions, and Mr. Mahathir resigned in February.
In the following months, and in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, Najib supporters have returned to power in what opponents have called a “coup d’etat” and a “back door government.”
Muhyiddin Yassin, who formed a coalition with UMNO, was named prime minister without an election and has since rejected opposition calls for a vote of confidence in Parliament.
Mr. Najib, whose father and uncle were both prime ministers, is part of Mr. Muhyiddin’s inner circle, but does not hold a leadership position.
By consolidating control after his return to power, the Muhyiddin government has tried to crack down on independent media outlets, including Al Jazeera, which aired a 25-minute documentary earlier this month showing a style crackdown. against undocumented migrant workers due to fears of the coronavirus. .
Authorities announced that they were investigating Al Jazeera for sedition, defamation, and violation of communication laws. The station said seven of its staff members have been questioned by the police.
