KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian court on Tuesday (March 31) ordered jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to pay US$1.3 billion (S$1.68 billion) to a former unit of scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB, state media reported.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Najib was liable for losses incurred by SRC International, a former subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), state news agency Bernama reported.
High Court judge Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin ruled that Najib breached his fiduciary duties, abused his position as prime minister, and misappropriated SRC funds for personal gain, Bernama reported.
SRC's lawyer, Lim Chee Wee, confirmed the Bernama report to Reuters but declined further comment on the ruling.
Najib would appeal the ruling, his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said, according to Bernama.
Muhammad Shafee did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Najib has been in prison since August 2022 after being found guilty of corruption and money laundering over funds misappropriated from SRC in a separate case. He was also fined 50 million ringgit ($$16 million) as part of that sentence.
Malaysia and US investigators say at least US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, a state fund Najib co-founded in 2009 during the first of his nine years in power in the Southeast Asian country.
In December, Najib was sentenced to a further 15 years in jail and fined US$2.8 billion for power abuse and money laundering in the biggest trial of the multibillion-dollar scandal. He denies wrongdoing and is appealing the ruling.
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