Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has begun a 12-year prison sentence after losing his final appeal on charges related to a graft scandal involving state fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Najib, 69, faced seven charges in July 2020 over criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering. He was convicted, sentenced to 12 years in jail, and fined 210 million ringgit ($47 million).
A five-member Federal Court panel on Tuesday upheld his conviction and sentence for the embezzlement of 42 million ringgit ($9 million) at SRC International—a former unit of 1MDB—and denied his appeal.
In her ruling, Judge Tengku Maimun stated that Najib did not challenge the transfer of monies into his personal bank accounts throughout the trial and that his appeal was “devoid of any merits.”…