Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak ordered to pay US$400 million in unpaid taxes

A judge said former prime ministers are not exempt from paying tax and that Najib must pay his ‘debt’ to the government
Authorities filed the suit last year to recover unpaid taxes accumulated by Najib between 2011 and 2017, plus penalties and interest

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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (L). Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:39pm, 22 Jul 2020Updated: 7:44pm, 22 Jul 2020

A Malaysian court on Wednesday ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to settle 1.69 billion ringgit (US$397.41 million) in unpaid taxes over seven years while he was still in office, according to a report by national newswire Bernama.

Defeated in the 2018 general election amid widespread outrage over allegedly rampant graft in his government, Najib is facing multiple charges of corruption and abuse of power linked to billions of dollars Malaysian prosecutors say was siphoned off from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

A separate US Department of Justice investigation to track down assets bought with funds allegedly stolen from 1MDB was the biggest case pursued by the department under its kleptocracy programme.

Najib has denied all wrongdoing.

In his ruling, High Court judge Ahmad Bache said former prime ministers are not exempt from paying tax and that Najib must pay his “debt” to the government, according to the Bernama report.

Tax authorities filed the suit last June to recover unpaid taxes accumulated by Najib between 2011 and 2017, plus penalties and interest.

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