KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 - Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has paid the RM50 million fine imposed on him in the SRC International Sdn Bhd fund misappropriation case, fulfilling one condition of his conditional pardon.
His special officer Ahmad Lutfi Azhar arrived at the High Court's criminal registry at 11.30am today to arrange the payment and complete the necessary administrative procedures.
The payment was among the conditions of a pardon granted by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, on September 18, allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028.
The decision was made during the 64th meeting of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya at Istana Negara.
Previously, Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said that Najib was required to pay the fine at the Kuala Lumpur High Court's criminal registry, where the SRC International case was filed and heard.
Meanwhile, Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee confirmed the matter, saying his team is finalising the documentation process.
“Yes, in here (at the High Court) sorting the process out,” he said in a WhatsApp message to the media.
During its 61st meeting on January 29, 2024, the Pardons Board decided to reduce Najib’s prison sentence from 12 years to six years, and his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
On July 28, 2020, the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced him to 12 years in prison and imposed a fine of RM210 million after finding him guilty of seven charges involving the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.
The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence in December 2021, and the Federal Court later affirmed the decision, dismissing Najib’s final appeal on August 23, 2022.
On that same day, he began serving his prison sentence at the Kajang Prison.
Speaking at a media conference after the payment, Farhan said an UMNO representative paid the fine at the High Court this morning, fulfilling one of the conditions of the royal pardon granted to the former prime minister.
Following the payment, the court issued the house arrest order for Najib.
“As a result, the court has issued, pursuant to the royal pardon, the order for house arrest. We have that order, and we will be delivering that order to the Kajang Prison right now.
“There is still a further process which needs to take place, so I am not going to take any questions, but once that process is complete, we will give a much more comprehensive press statement,” he said.
When asked how long the process would take, Farhan said the defence team expected it to be completed today if everything proceeded as planned.
However, the house arrest arrangement does not resolve Najib's other legal cases, including his appeal against his conviction and 15-year prison sentence and RM11.4 billion fine in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case.
The case involves 25 charges, four of abuse of power and 21 of money laundering, relating to approximately RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.
Najib also faces a US$5.64 billion (RM22.89 billion) civil suit filed by 1MDB against him and six others over alleged breaches of fiduciary and statutory duties, abuse of power, conspiracy and misappropriation of company funds.
The suit is scheduled to resume on March 15, 2027.
In another civil case, SRC International and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd are seeking RM42 million from Najib. The trial concluded on March 16 this year, and the case is now at the submissions stage before Judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan.
He also has a pending Court of Appeal challenge arising from a US$1.18 billion (RM4.79 billion) civil suit filed by SRC International.
The High Court had ordered Najib to pay US$1.3 billion (RM5.28 billion) in damages after finding that he had abused his position and misappropriated company funds for personal benefit.
However, the court subsequently granted a stay of the damages payment pending his appeal.
