KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim has granted former Prime Minister Najib Razak a conditional royal pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028.
The decision was reached at a meeting of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya on Friday, just one week after Najib’s latest clemency application had been deferred to a future meeting.
According to Malaysia’s Legal Affairs Department, the arrangement is subject to conditions, including payment of a 50 million ringgit ($12 million) fine. Failure to comply with the conditions could result in the pardon being revoked and Najib being required to return to prison.
Najib, 73, has been incarcerated since August 2022 following the Federal Court’s decision to uphold his conviction in a corruption case involving SRC International, a former unit of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.
He was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 210 million ringgit in 2020 after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving funds transferred into his accounts.
In January 2024, the Pardons Board reduced his prison term to six years and lowered the fine to 50 million ringgit. The latest decision now allows him to complete the remaining portion of that sentence at home, subject to the conditions attached to the royal pardon.
The latest development follows a legal dispute over an alleged earlier order that would have allowed Najib to serve his sentence under house arrest. The High Court previously ruled that the claimed order was not enforceable because the matter had not been discussed by the Pardons Board during its January 2024 meeting.
Najib is also serving the consequences of a separate legal case linked to the wider 1MDB scandal. In December 2025, he was convicted of abuse of power and money laundering involving more than $700 million allegedly channelled into his accounts. He received an additional 15-year prison sentence and an 11.4 billion ringgit fine, with the sentence scheduled to begin after his existing term. He has appealed that conviction.
The 1MDB scandal has remained one of Malaysia’s most significant corruption cases. Investigators have alleged that billions of dollars were diverted from the state investment fund and moved through international financial networks. The scandal contributed to the defeat of Najib’s ruling coalition in the 2018 general election.
Despite his imprisonment, Najib remains an influential figure within the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government.
The decision to permit house arrest is expected to keep attention focused on Malaysia’s royal clemency system, the powers of the Pardons Board and the legal treatment of the former premier.