Former Malaysian PM Najib to serve 15 years in jail

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 15 years in jail over four counts of abuse of power in a case related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) on Friday.

The country's High Court also imposed a fine of 11.4 billion ringgit (2.82 billion U.S. dollars), which is five times the amount of gratification involved in the charges.

For 21 additional money laundering charges, Najib is sentenced to five years in jail for each of the charges. However, no fine is imposed for money laundering.

Presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered that all of the jail time is to run concurrently.

Najib was sentenced in July 2020 to 12 years in jail and fined 210 million ringgit (44.4 million U.S. dollars) for abuse of power related to SRC International, a former unit of state investment fund 1MDB.

In February last year, Najib was granted a reduced sentence from 12 years to six years, and his fine was cut to 50 million ringgit (10.6 million dollars). ■