The king of Malaysia today granted a conditional pardon to former Prime Minister Najib Razak, allowing the former ruler, arrested since 2022 for corruption, to serve the remainder of the sentence under house arrest.
© Reuters
18/09/2026
by
Lusa
The decision was taken at an extraordinary meeting of the Commission of Forgiveness, one week after the postponement of the assessment of Najib's most recent request for clemency.
The measure constitutes an unprecedented use of house arrest as a form of real clemency in the country and could reopen the debate on the powers of the monarchy and the enforcement of the law.
According to a statement from the Department of Legal Affairs of the Prime Minister's office, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar approved a “conditional pardon” authorising Najib to serve the remainder of the sentence at home until 23 August 2028, provided he pays the fine of 50 million ringgits (EUR 10,2 million) fixed by the court.
The former 73-year-old Prime Minister has been detained since August 2022, after the Malaysian superior court has confirmed his conviction in a corruption process related to the diversion of billions of dollars from State Fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Najib was initially sentenced in 2020 to 12 years in prison and a fine of 210 million ringgits (EUR 43,8 million) for abuse of power, breach of trust and money laundering linked to the transfer of 42 million ringgits (EUR 8,8 million) to its bank accounts from SRC International, former unit of 1MDB.
In January 2024, the pardon commission presided over by the then king reduced the sentence to six years in prison and reduced the fine to 50 million ringgits (EUR 10.6 million).
The former head of government maintains that the former monarch, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, had also authorized him to serve the rest of his sentence in house arrest. However, the Superior Court considered that this alleged order was not applicable because it was not examined by the Commission of Forgiveness at its meeting in January 2024.
The decision now announced comes at a time when Najib resorts to a second conviction for corruption.
In December 2025, he was sentenced to another 15 years in prison and a fine of EUR 11.4 billion (EUR 2.4 billion) for abuse of power and money laundering related to more than USD 700 million (EUR 595 million) from the 1MDB.
The scandal of the 1MDB, which began in 2009, provoked strong public indignation and contributed to the historic defeat in the 2018 elections of the Malaysian ruling party since independence in 1957. Researchers claim that at least USD 4.5 billion (EUR 3.8 billion) was diverted from the fund and bleached through a network of bank accounts in several countries.
Despite convictions, Najib continues to hold influence in the National Organization of the United Malay (UMNO), currently a member of the Government of National Unity led by Anwar Ibrahim.