A court in Malaysia has dismissed former Prime Minister Najib Razak's bid to serve the remainder of his jail sentence at home.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled on Monday that a royal order, which would have allowed the measure, was invalid as it wasn't made in accordance with constitutional requirements.
The court didn't dispute the existence of the order issued in 2024 by the then-king, but said the king should have consulted with the pardons board first.
This means the 72-year-old will serve the remainder of his sentence for money laundering and abuse of power in prison.
He is scheduled for release in 2028 after his original 12-year-jail sentence was cut in half.
Najib is serving time after being convicted on charges linked to the theft of billions of dollars from a Malaysian state fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad but more commonly known by its abbreviation, 1MDB.
Najib launched 1MDB in 2009, when he assumed office, to promote economic development and investment.
But senior officials and their associates ended up stealing more than $4.5 billion (€3.84 billion) from the fund from 2009 to 2013, according to the US Justice Department. The money was laundered through layers of bank accounts in the United States and other countries.
It's one of the largest corruption and embezzlement scandals in the world in recent history.
The funds were used on gambling $25 million in Las Vegas casinos, financing a Hollywood movie and extravagant purchases such as a private jet and yacht, art and jewelry.
When police searched properties linked to Najib shortly after he lost the 2018 election, they seized 1,400 necklaces, 567 handbags, 423 watches, 2,200 rings, 1,600 brooches and 14 tiaras, as well as nearly $27 million in cash, worth an estimated $273 million. Most of the jewelry belonged to his wife, Rosmah Mansor.
Najib was sentenced in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. The seven charges related to the diversion of some $9.9 million from a 1MDB subsidiary into his personal bank accounts.
Separately, on Friday, the court will make a decision in a second graft trial against the former prime minister.
The High Court will rule on four charges of abuse of power to obtain over $700 million from 1MDB that went into Najib's bank accounts, and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.
If found guilty, Najib faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of abuse of power and up to five years for each of the money laundering charges.