This week former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 12 years in jail after being found guilty on seven corruption counts associated with 1MDB in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. He was also fined RM210 million ($49 million).
The transcript of judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohama Ghazali explaining his judgement has become available and will be of interest to several key financial figures in Malaysia – but not, for once, Goldman Sachs, which isn’t referenced in the 55-page judgment (this is only the first of potentially five trails related to Najib and 1MDB).
This trial focused on wrongdoing around a subsidiary of 1MDB called SRC International; it was alleged that transfers totaling RM42 million from SRC were placed into Najib’s account at AmIslamic Bank in 2014. These were presented as a gift from the Saudi royal family.
 |
| Najib Razak leaves court |
The judgment says Najib testified that he had spoken with Zeti Akhtar Aziz, then governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, “and informed her about the donation he was expecting.” “The accused took comfort in this,” the judgment reads, reasoning that if anything was suspicious, Bank Negara would raise its concerns.
