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Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim has granted former prime minister Najib Razak a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028.
The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department said on Friday that Najib must pay a fine of 50 million ringgit and comply with all conditions attached to the pardon. Any breach of the conditions will result in the pardon being revoked and Najib being returned to prison.
Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, has been imprisoned since August 2022 after being convicted in a corruption case linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
His original 12-year prison sentence was reduced to six years in 2024, while his fine was cut from 210 million ringgit to 50 million ringgit.
In a separate 1MDB-related case, Najib was sentenced in December 2025 to another 15 years in prison and fined 11.4 billion ringgit for abuse of power and money laundering. He has appealed that conviction.
Despite being imprisoned, Najib remains an influential figure in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government. The house-arrest decision could add to political tensions within the coalition.