A Malaysian court on Tuesday ordered jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to pay $1.3 billion to SRC International, a former unit of scandal-linked state fund 1MDB, after finding him liable for losses incurred by the company, according to Channel News Asia. 

The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Najib had breached his fiduciary duties, abused his position as prime minister, and misappropriated SRC funds for personal gain, CNA said, citing state news agency Bernama. High Court judge Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin found Najib liable for losses of $1.18 billion suffered by SRC and said another $120 million in SRC-linked funds had been credited into his personal bank account. 

In the ruling, the judge rejected Najib’s claim that the funds were donations, adding that Najib exercised “comprehensive and meticulous control” over key company decisions and used his positions as prime minister and finance minister to facilitate “a systematic misappropriation,” according to the report. 

Najib is expected to appeal the ruling. The civil suit was filed by SRC in 2021 and centers on Najib’s role in the company and the handling of funds from a 4 billion ringgit loan from Retirement Fund Inc, or KWAP, CNA said.

Najib has been in prison since August 2022 after being found guilty in a separate criminal case involving funds misappropriated from SRC. He was initially sentenced in July 2020 to 12 years in jail and fined 210 million ringgit over abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit of SRC funds. Malaysia’s Pardons Board later reduced that sentence to six years and cut the fine to 50 million ringgit, the report said.

Najib received a further 15-year jail sentence in December 2025 and a $2.8-billion fine for abuse of power and money laundering in the largest trial linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. 

Read more at CNA