Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has left prison to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
This follows the settlement of a required 50-million-ringgit ($12.3 million) fine by his party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), fulfilling a key condition of a conditional royal pardon.
Najib had been serving time at Kajang Prison following his 2022 conviction in the SRC International corruption case.
Though initially sentenced to 12 years, Malaysia’s Pardons Board halved his term to six years in early 2024.
A subsequent conditional royal pardon allowed for home detention through the remainder of his term until his expected release in August 2028, contingent on the financial penalty being paid.
The massive financial penalty reduced from an original 210 million ringgit down to 50 million ringgit—was cleared after a party-backed funding effort.
With the payment verified, the Kuala Lumpur High Court issued the house arrest order, prompting security cordons and police deployments outside his residence.
The decision has sparked fresh political debate in Malaysia. While UMNO remains a partner in the current governing alliance, critics and anti-corruption advocates have heavily condemned the transition to home detention.
Meanwhile, Najib still faces separate ongoing legal proceedings tied to broader 1MDB-related charges.
