The judge rejected the assessment of Najib Razak’s case, saying the ex-prime minister was “the author of his own misfortunes”.
Malaysia’s Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak to review his conviction for corruption in the multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib’s judicial attempts to challenge the guilty verdict.
Najib was jailed last year after the Malaysian Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence imposed on him by a lower court.
Najib, 69, claimed he was not given a fair trial because a judge had a conflict of interest and his new legal team was not given enough time to review the files.
But the Federal Court on Friday rejected the challenge.
“There is no prejudice and no failure of justice,” Judge Vernon Ong said.
The former prime minister can no longer challenge the conviction in court, but he has applied for a royal pardon which, if successful, could lead to his release without serving the full 12-year term.
Ong said a five-member panel voted 4 to 1 to deny Najib’s application to review the sentencing.
There was no miscarriage of justice in last year’s top court decision, he said, adding that a review was granted only in “very limited and exceptional circumstances”.
“In the end, and considering all the circumstances, we are compelled to say that the applicant (Najib) was the cause of his own misfortune,” Ong said.
Investigators have said that about $4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) — co-founded by Najib during his first year as prime minister in 2009 — and more than $1 billion went into accounts linked to Najib.
Najib was charged after losing a general election in 2018. He was found guilty in 2020 by a Supreme Court of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving approximately $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He lost all his professions.
The former prime minister has consistently pleaded for innocence.
Najib, who has been in prison since August, seemed dejected when the decision was read. Earlier, he had arrived in court escorted by prison guards and greeted by dozens of supporters.
His wife Rosmah Mansor, who was also found guilty of corruption last year, attended the trial.
Najib faces three other lawsuits related to transplantation at 1MDB and other government agencies.