Najib Fails to Get Stay of 15-Year Jail Term and RM11.4 Billion Fine in 1MDB Case

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has failed to obtain a stay of his 15-year prison sentence and RM11.4 billion fine in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case. 

High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin dismissed the application by the 73-year-old former Pekan MP on Wednesday, ruling that he did not meet the requirement of special and exceptional circumstances for a stay.

Court Rejects Najib’s Bid to Delay 1MDB Sentence

“The applicant can no longer be considered a first-time offender after his conviction in the SRC case was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court in Putrajaya,” she said.

The former UMNO president faces four charges of using his position to obtain gratification totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds, and 21 money laundering charges involving the same sum, between 2011 and 2014. 

The offences were allegedly committed at AmIslamic Bank Berhad in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur.

On Dec. 26, 2025, the High Court, then presided over by Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, sentenced Najib to 15 years’ jail and ordered him to pay a fine of RM11.38 billion. 

He faces 10 years’ jail for each corruption case if he fails to pay. The court imposed 15 years for each corruption charge and five years for each money laundering charge, to run concurrently after he completes his SRC International sentence at Kajang Prison.