The High Court has firmly dismissed the suggestion that senior officers of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) colluded with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, describing such claims as detached from reality and unsupported by evidence.
In delivering its findings on December 26, 2025, Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said it was implausible to believe that officers who were hierarchically subordinate to Najib would knowingly conspire against a sitting prime minister alongside an individual who held no official position within 1MDB. The court emphasised that such a scenario would require an extraordinary suspension of common sense.
Justice Sequerah explained that the structure of 1MDB placed Najib at the very top of its decision-making hierarchy. By virtue of provisions in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, coupled with Najib’s dual roles as prime minister and finance minister, he exercised ultimate authority over major decisions involving the state investment fund. Against this backdrop, the court said, it was unreasonable to suggest that officers would independently act against his interests.
The judge stated that the only credible explanation for 1MDB officers acting on instructions issued by Low was their belief that those instructions either originated from Najib or carried his implicit approval. Given the scale of the transactions involved and the sensitivity of the matters, the court found it inconceivable that such actions would have been taken without confidence that they aligned with Najib’s directives.
Justice Sequerah also highlighted evidence showing that Najib and Low were personally acquainted, noting that photographic material placed both men together during overseas trips on separate occasions. The court said this further weakened attempts to portray Low as an external actor operating without Najib’s knowledge or endorsement.
Addressing defence arguments that challenged the credibility of key prosecution witnesses, the judge said their testimonies remained consistent throughout the proceedings. After weighing the defence evidence against the prosecution’s case, the court found no basis to overturn earlier findings reached at the close of the prosecution’s case.
Justice Sequerah added that extensive cross-examination had failed to undermine the reliability of these witnesses. Their accounts of Najib’s interactions with Low in relation to 1MDB matters, the court said, revealed a coherent and recurring pattern that could not reasonably be dismissed as coincidence or fabrication.
The court reiterated that the trial was not about judging the character of individual witnesses, but about assessing whether their evidence on the core issues was credible and capable of belief. It concluded that sufficient weight could be attached to their testimonies in drawing factual findings and necessary inferences.
Najib faces four charges of abuse of power for allegedly using his positions as prime minister, finance minister and chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board to obtain RM2.22 billion. He is also charged with 21 counts of money laundering linked to the handling of those funds through his personal AmIslamic Bank accounts.
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