Malaysia’s disgraced former PM leaves jail for house arrest after embezzling millions

Malaysia’s disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak has arrived home to begin serving the rest of a jail sentence for corruption under house arrest.

There was a big media presence at his Kuala Lumpur residence to see the 73-year-old return from prison in an SUV late on Tuesday night, escorted by a heavily armed police convoy.

Najib’s return ended a four-year prison stint after he was found guilty over the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

The 1MDB scandal brought down his government and made headlines around the world when it came to light a decade ago, embroiling prominent figures from Malaysia to Goldman Sachs and Hollywood.

Investigators estimated that $4.5bn (£3.3bn) was siphoned from the state-owned wealth fund, which Najib co-founded, into private pockets, including his own. More than $1bn allegedly ended up in accounts linked to Najib, according to prosecutors.

Najib’s lawyers claim he had been misled by his advisers – in particular the financier Jho Low, who has maintained his innocence and remains at large.

Najib’s mansion in one of the capital’s most exclusive neighbourhoods was declared a federal prison ahead of his homecoming on Tuesday.

Critics said his release from jail undermined efforts to fight corruption and questioned its legal basis, saying Malaysian law made no provision for house arrest.

Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, denied wrongdoing but was convicted at two separate trials.

In the first trial he was sentenced in 2020 to 12 years in prison and jailed in 2022. The term was later halved on appeal.

In September, the King of Malaysia granted him a conditional pardon to see out the remaining two years of his sentence at home.

The transfer to his mansion was to take place on Friday but put on hold after the attorney general sought clarification of the royal decree. On Tuesday the high court ruled the house arrest was effective immediately.

Najib’s party paid a $12m fine as part of the terms of the royal pardon allowing him to serve the rest of his term at home.

He was sentenced after being convicted of abuse of power, money laundering and breach of trust over 42 million ringgit ($10m; £7.7m) transferred from SRC International – a former unit of 1MDB – into his private accounts.

Najib is appealing against a 15-year prison sentence, handed down at a second trial in December 2025, in a case involving much larger sums of money. In that case he was convicted of misappropriating nearly 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit ($569m; £422m) from the nation’s sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

He is due to start serving that sentence after his house arrest ends, which is expected in August 2028.