Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak moved from prison to house arrest

Returning home after four years behind bars

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived at his home in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday to serve the remainder of his sentence in a corruption case under house arrest. The 73-year-old politician was escorted by a convoy of police and prison vehicles; supporters were waiting outside his residence. The case concerns the state investment fund 1MDB, from which, according to investigators, $4.5 billion was siphoned off. Najib himself, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, denies any involvement in the embezzlement.

How the path to release unfolded

The transfer to house arrest was preceded by a chain of decisions. In September, Malaysia's King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, granted Najib a conditional pardon allowing him to serve a reduced six-year sentence at home — on condition that the court-imposed fine be paid. The fine was paid on Friday by his party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which ruled the country for six decades after independence. The procedure nevertheless stalled: Najib was briefly released from prison, but returned a few hours later after the attorney general requested legal clarification. The King then publicly warned against ignoring the pardon, calling it “clear, unambiguous and without any uncertainty”, and only on Tuesday did the High Court in Kuala Lumpur issue a new transfer order.

What house arrest means and what lies ahead

The former prime minister's lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, called the transfer “a final relief,” but stressed that house arrest “is still detention, since he cannot leave the house without special permission or for a special reason.” The regime runs until August 2028, but does not cover a separate 15-year sentence for abuse of power and money laundering handed down in another case. Najib is appealing that sentence, and if the appeal fails he could return to prison. The house arrest decision has already triggered political consequences: Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned in protest.

The scale of the 1MDB case

According to US investigators, of the embezzled 1MDB funds, about $1 billion ended up in accounts linked to Najib; the money was spent on luxury real estate, a superyacht and works of art — and, ironically, helped finance the film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which is precisely about financial fraud. Fugitive financier Jho Low, implicated in the case, remains at large. In 2024, Najib apologized for the improper handling of the situation, but said he had been misled by officials and Jho Low.