KUALA LUMPUR – Convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will serve half his 12-year sentence for corruption in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, the Pardons Board has announced.
Najib will be released on August 23, 2028.
The RM210 million fine imposed will also be reduced, the board’s secretariat for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya under the legal division of the Prime Minister’s Department said in its statement released at 3.30pm today.
“Therefore, it is agreed Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak will be freed on August 23, 2028, and the fine of RM210 million is reduced to RM50 million.
“However, if the fine is not paid, the period of imprisonment will be increased for another year whereby his release will be on August 23, 2029,” the board said.
Najib was convicted by the high court in July 2020 of corruption involving RM42 million of funds belonging to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
He began his prison sentence on August 23, 2022 when he lost his final appeal against his conviction at the Federal Court, and submitted his application for a pardon in September the same year.
The Pardons Board today confirmed it met on Monday and the meeting was chaired by the immediate past Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who ended his reign the next day.
The board said it reviewed five applications, including Najib’s, and made its decision after considering views and advice.
The former prime minister and ex-finance minister still has three other court cases pending.
They are for alleged corruption involving RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds, which is currently in the trial stage; misappropriation of RM6.6 billion in relation to the International Petroleum Investment Company, for which trial is to begin in June; and money-laundering charges involving RM27 million of SRC International funds, which are to be heard in September. – February 2, 2024