Malaysia’s jailed ex-PM Najib Razak granted house arrest in second royal pardon

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been granted a conditional royal pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his current prison sentence under house arrest, in a decision that marks his second royal intervention since his conviction in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.

The decision was announced on Friday after a meeting of Malaysia’s Federal Territories Pardons Board, chaired by King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. Under the pardon, Najib can serve the remainder of his sentence at home until August 23, 2028, provided he pays a RM50 million ($12.3 million) fine and complies with the conditions attached to the order.

The Legal Affairs Division of Malaysia’s Prime Minister’s Department said the pardon would automatically be revoked if Najib failed to meet the conditions, requiring him to return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. Details of all the conditions have not been publicly disclosed.

Najib, 73, has been imprisoned since August 2022 after Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld his conviction in a case involving RM42 million from SRC International, a former unit of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million.

In January 2024, a previous Pardons Board reduced his prison term to six years and cut the fine to RM50 million. The latest decision therefore represents his second royal clemency connected to the case.

Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that he was made a scapegoat in the sprawling 1MDB scandal. International investigators have alleged that about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, although the full scandal involved numerous individuals and entities across several countries.

The former premier also faces a separate 15-year prison sentence imposed in December 2025 after he was convicted in another 1MDB-related case involving abuse of power and money laundering. He has appealed that conviction. It remains unclear whether the latest house-arrest order affects that separate sentence, which is scheduled to begin after his current sentence.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged Malaysians to accept the King’s decision, while maintaining that his government remained committed to fighting corruption and upholding the rule of law.

The decision could also have political implications because Najib remains influential within the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is part of Anwar’s governing coalition. UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi welcomed the decision and announced plans for a fund to help Najib pay the RM50 million fine.

The move comes only a week after Najib’s latest clemency request was deferred by the Pardons Board. His house-arrest bid had been the subject of a prolonged legal dispute after he claimed that a previous royal order had also permitted him to serve his sentence at home.

For now, Malaysian authorities have not confirmed exactly when Najib will leave prison for house arrest.