KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Secretariat of the Amnesty Bureau of the Federal Territory of Malaysia announced on the 2nd that former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak received a commutation of his sentence from 12 years to 6 years, and he can be released from prison on August 23, 2028.
The Secretariat said that the fine imposed on Najib was reduced from 2100 million ringgit (about 3.)200 million yuan) to 50 million ringgit. If the fine is not paid, Najib's sentence will be increased by one year.
Najib Najib served as prime minister from 2009 and stepped down in 2018. After taking office, he set up a sovereign investment called One Malaysia Development Corporation (1MDB)**. In July 2020, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Najib was convicted of seven counts of misappropriation and money laundering in the case of SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, and sentenced him to 12 years in prison and 2MYR 100 million fine. Najib appealed to the Court of Appeal, which was dismissed in December 2021. On August 23, 2022, the Federal Court of Malaysia upheld the original verdict, making Najib Razak the first former prime minister to serve a prison sentence in Malaysia.
Najib still has other alleged corruption cases pending. (ENDS).