PUTRAJAYA (Dec 26): Despite former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's insistence that the funds in focus in his 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trials were political donations, the lack of official records made the claims dubious, the High Court said on Friday. Reading his judgment in the 1MDB -Tanore trial, judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah found that this portion of Najib's defence was not tenable as Umno — the party the ex-PM had led — "was not some fly-by-night rookie political institute". "The party, at the time was Malaysia's largest political party, having its roots established as far back as 1946. In this trial, Najib is accused of gratifying himself of RM2.27 billion of 1MDB funds, and faces four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges. The court had earlier broken for Friday prayers and resumed with the judge continuing to deliver his judgement at 3.15pm.

Source: The Edge Markets December 26, 2025 07:23 UTC