Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak loses house arrest bid

A supporter of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak holds a hand fan with a picture of Najib printed on it, outside the Malaysian federal court, where his case is being heard, at Putrajaya, Malaysia, August 13, 2025. —REUTERS

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA—A Malaysian court on Monday rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bid to serve the remainder of his graft sentence under house arrest.

The High Court ruled that a rare royal order issued by the nation’s former king was not valid as it wasn’t made in accordance with constitutional requirements.

Najib’s lawyer told the court they plan to appeal the verdict.

The 72-year-old former prime minister will serve the remainder of his term in prison, scheduled to end in August 2028 after the Pardons Board cut the 12-year sentence by half last year.

Najib is serving time after being convicted in a trial linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state fund that toppled his government in 2018.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) channeled into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.