KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is set to settle his RM50 million fine today, clearing a critical legal hurdle to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
According to sources cited by Berita Harian, a representative acting on behalf of the 73-year-old former Pekan MP will pay the sum at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.
The payment fulfills the prerequisite attached to the conditional pardon granted by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim on Sept 18.
Under that royal decree, Najib was allowed to transition from Kajang Prison to home detention until Aug 23, 2028, strictly on the condition that the RM50 million penalty was settled in full. Authorities, including the Attorney-General’s Chambers, had earlier maintained that his transfer remained on hold until the fine was accounted for.
The RM50 million fine originates from the Federal Territories Pardons Board’s decision in January 2024, which drastically halved his original 12-year jail sentence to six years and reduced his financial penalty from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Najib began serving his sentence in August 2022 after the Federal Court upheld his conviction on seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
While the settlement clears his release into home confinement for the SRC International matter, Najib’s legal woes remain far from over. The pardon and home detention order apply strictly to the SRC case and do not extend to his ongoing court proceedings, including separate 1MDB corruption and money-laundering trials and multi-billion-dollar civil suits. – November 4, 2026