Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak has returned to his Kuala Lumpur residence to begin serving the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest. The 73-year-old arrived late on Tuesday night in an SUV, escorted by a heavily armed police convoy. A large media presence gathered at his home to witness the departure from prison, which marked the end of his four-year incarceration.
Najib’s release concludes a period of detention stemming from his conviction over the embezzlement of billions of dollars from the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The 1MDB scandal, which first emerged a decade ago, led to the collapse of his government and captured global attention. The controversy involved prominent figures from Malaysia, Goldman Sachs, and Hollywood, with investigators estimating that $4.5 billion was siphoned from the state-owned fund into private accounts.
Prosecutors alleged that more than $1 billion of the stolen funds ended up in accounts linked to Najib. Although he denied wrongdoing, he was found guilty at two separate trials. His legal team has argued that he was misled by his advisers, particularly financier Jho Low, who has maintained his innocence and remains at large. Najib served as Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018 before the scandal forced him from power.
In the first trial, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 and jailed in 2022. He was convicted of abuse of power, money laundering, and breach of trust regarding 42 million ringgit transferred from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, into his private accounts. This sentence was later halved on appeal. In September, the King of Malaysia granted him a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the final two years of his term at home.
The transfer to his mansion was originally scheduled for Friday but was delayed after the attorney general sought clarification on the royal decree. On Tuesday, the high court ruled that the house arrest was effective immediately. To facilitate this, Najib’s mansion in one of the capital’s most exclusive neighborhoods was officially declared a federal prison ahead of his return.
As part of the terms for the royal pardon, Najib’s party paid a $12 million fine. Critics of the decision have questioned its legal basis, noting that Malaysian law does not explicitly provide for house arrest. They argue that his release undermines national efforts to combat corruption.
Najib is currently appealing against a second, more severe sentence. In December 2025, he was handed a 15-year prison term in a case involving much larger sums. In that trial, he was convicted of misappropriating nearly 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit from 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
He is expected to begin serving this second sentence once his current house arrest period ends, which is anticipated to occur in August 2028. For now, he will remain in his residence under strict supervision while the legal proceedings continue.
