Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak returns home under royal pardon, but faces a separate 15-year prison sentence

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived home Tuesday to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence under house arrest after four years in prison over the 1MDB scandal that saw $4.5 billion siphoned out of the state investment fund.

The transfer followed a royal pardon and a court ruling that ended a legal dispute over his release from prison.

Najib, 73, reached his Kuala Lumpur residence in a convoy escorted by police and prison vehicles, with supporters waiting outside.

"It's a final relief," his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told reporters, adding that house arrest was "still an imprisonment because he can't leave the house unless he gets special permission or for a special reason."

Why was Najib allowed to leave prison?

Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar granted Najib a conditional pardon in September, allowing him to complete his reduced six-year sentence at home once a court-imposed fine was paid.

His political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) which governed Malaysia for six decades following independence, paid the fine on Friday. Najib briefly left prison but was returned hours later after the attorney general sought legal clarification.

The king subsequently warned against defying the pardon, which he said was "clear, explicit and without any ambiguity." The Kuala Lumpur High Court issued a fresh order Tuesday allowing the transfer.

Malaysia's former PM guilty in major corruption scandal

Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned in protest against the decision to let Najib serve his sentence under house arrest.

Could Najib return to prison?

Najib's house arrest runs until August 2028 but does not cover a separate 15-year sentence for abuse of power and money laundering. He is appealing that conviction and could return to prison if the appeal fails.

Prime minister from 2009 to 2018, Najib has denied wrongdoing in the looting of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB.

According to US investigators, stolen funds paid for luxury properties, a superyacht and artworks — and, ironically, helped finance "The Wolf of Wall Street," a film about financial fraud. The investigators estimated $1 billion of the funds ended up in accounts linked to Najib.

Najib apologized in 2024 for mishandling the affair but said officials and fugitive financier Jho Low had misled him.