Malaysia says it has no record of documents authorizing former prime minister Najib’s house arrest Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Law Ministry said on Friday it had no record of any documents allowing jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to be placed under house arrest as the disgraced former leader tries to serve out the rest of his sentence at home.
Najib, jailed for his role in a multibillion-dollar fraud at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, had his 12-year prison sentence halved last year by then-King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who chaired a special pardons committee.
Najib and the former king’s palace say the former monarch also granted him house arrest in an “additional order” that accompanied the pardon. Najib’s legal team says the authorities have ignored the document.
Malaysia’s Law Ministry said in a statement that it had not received any official notification or instructions from the Malaysian royal palace on the matter.
“The Ministry of Law, as the secretariat of the pardons committee, confirms that there are no additional documents or additions in the official files or records under the ministry,” it said.
Malaysia’s interior and communications ministers also said they were unaware of the existence of such a document.
In 2020, Najib was found guilty of criminal breach of trust and abuse of authority for illegally receiving funds embezzled from the 1MDB unit. He is on trial for corruption in several other 1MDB-related cases and denies wrongdoing.
Najib filed a legal claim seeking to obtain the royal document and confirm its existence. The court initially rejected that objection, and that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal on Monday.
