Najib Razak to File Appeal Against 1MDB Conviction, Lead Lawyer Confirms

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 27: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will file an appeal on Monday (Dec 29) following his conviction in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial, his lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed on Friday.

Speaking after the High Court verdict, Shafee expressed the legal team’s disappointment but said they were prepared to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.

“As we anticipated, Najib was found guilty. While we are extremely disappointed, we are ready to focus on the appeal,” Shafee said, describing the verdict as unprecedented in his decades-long legal career.

“This is the first time in my 50 years of practice that I have lost on every point argued before the court. In football terms, the prosecution scored 100, and we scored zero,” he added.

Najib was convicted on all 25 charges, including four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering linked to RM2.28 billion allegedly obtained from 1MDB funds. The High Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison for each abuse of power charge, with a total fine of RM11.4 billion, and five years for each money laundering charge. All jail terms are to run concurrently.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah, delivering the broad grounds of judgment, stated that the defense had failed to establish reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

The abuse of power offenses were alleged to have occurred between February 2011 and December 2014 at the AmIslamic Bank Bhd branch on Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon, while the money laundering offenses were said to have occurred between March and August 2013 at the same location.

Shafee confirmed that the legal team will submit the appeal on Monday, signaling the next phase in Najib’s legal battle over one of Malaysia’s most high-profile corruption cases.