(Kuala Lumpur, 27th) Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib was found guilty by the High Court on all 25 charges in the 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering case. His lead counsel, Tan Sri Shafee Yee, admitted that this is his first time in 50 years of legal practice to be "comprehensively defeated" on every defense, describing the outcome as "like losing a football match 100 to 0."
At a press conference held Friday night after hearing the verdict at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, Shafee Yee said none of his team’s arguments were accepted by the judge in this case, which deeply shocked him.
“I lost everything in this case. The judge did not give us even a single point, just like the other side scored 100 goals and we didn’t score even one.”
Nevertheless, Shafee Yee revealed that Najib will officially file an appeal at the Court of Appeal next Monday to challenge the High Court’s decision. He stated that he looks forward to debating in the Court of Appeal and believes that there are multiple errors in Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence’s verdict.
“On one hand, I feel sorry for my client, but on the other hand, I am encouraged because the more errors in the verdict, the greater the chance of a successful appeal.”
The High Court today ruled that as the defense failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution, Najib was convicted of all 21 money laundering charges and 4 abuse of power charges, sentencing him to 15 years in prison and a fine of RM11.39 billion.
Najib was charged on September 20, 2018, with 25 counts related to 1MDB involving money laundering and abuse of power, which were transferred to the High Court for trial the following month. The case commenced in August 2019, underwent 253 days of hearings, and summoned 50 witnesses from both prosecution and defense, including former Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Zeti and several former 1MDB senior officials.
On October 30 last year, the High Court ruled that Najib’s prima facie case was established and ordered him to enter his defense. Najib began his defense in December last year and completed all defense procedures in May this year.
Najib, 72, was earlier convicted for misappropriating funds from SRC International and sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million in 2022. He is currently serving his sentence in Kajang Prison. His penalty was later halved through a clemency process, so the earliest he can be released is August 23, 2028.
However, the High Court recently rejected Najib’s judicial review application for home detention, meaning he must continue to serve his sentence in prison. Regarding the latest 1MDB verdict, his legal team has made it clear that they will continue to file an appeal through judicial procedures.