Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak will be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest after the Federal Territories Pardons Board, chaired by King Sultan Ibrahim, granted a conditional pardon on Friday.

The legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department said the measure applies until 23 August 2028, subject to payment of a 50 million ringgit fine. Najib must comply with the conditions imposed; a breach would revoke the pardon and return him to prison.

Najib, who led the government from 2009 to 2018, is serving a sentence in the SRC International case — a corruption prosecution linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign fund. The attorney-general said the conditional pardon applies to this conviction, not to every case tied to the scandal.

The original 12-year term was halved to six years by a partial pardon in 2024, and the fine was reduced to 50 million ringgit. The release date remains 23 August 2028 if the fine is paid. Najib had been held at Kajang Prison.

The decision changes where and how the remainder of the sentence is served. It does not erase the conviction or amount to an acquittal. Full details of the supervision were not set out in the initial announcement.

This article records a conditional clemency measure. It does not retry the underlying findings beyond the judgments already given, and it does not claim that every 1MDB-related case has been closed.

Image: Najib Razak portrait, 21 August 2008 / Government of Malaysia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Archive photograph, not the 2026 detention arrangement. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Malaysia king permits ex-PM Najib Razak to serve term under house arrest | Reuters; Former Malaysia PM Najib granted house arrest subject to him paying US$12.26 million fine | CNA.