Bangkok – Late July, Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 12 years in prison after long eluding the law, being dubbed by the media as “The Man of Steal” with over $4.5 billion embezzled out of the government investment fund under his control.
The son and nephew of Malaysian prime ministers, Najib Razak was once untouchable. He entered the parliament at the age of 22 and took over high ranks through his namesake alone, eventually taking the prime minister office in 2009 before losing his grip of power in 2013.
Malaysian people say corruption was rampant in his administration as he slowly stole from the country’s coffers to fuel his life of luxury and excess spending until years of allegations caught up to him this year, putting a fine on him for $50 million along with a sentence of 12 years in prison on the counts of seven corruption cases and multiple accusations of abuse of power.
Mr. Najib pushed for appeal with confidence as earlier in the year, the UMNO party that had put him into office back in 2009 had regained their footing in the Malaysian parliament, making it more likely that the guilty verdict would be overturned once the appeal had been made.
The large amount of money that Mr. Najib had embezzled had gone through years of money laundering, with there even being an investment in the 2013 Hollywood blockbuster “The Wolf of Wallstreet” , a biopic on the life of real life Sales guru, Jordan Belfort starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie.
The movie cites the life of then stock broker, Jordan Belfort’s rise through cutthroat sales tactics and tax evasion as he builds his sales empire only to be hunted down by the FBI and eventually offered the chance to work for them as a consultant, much like Leonardo DiCaprio’s other movie, also a biopic made in 2002, “Catch me if you can.”
“After considering all evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Kuala Lumpur High Court’s Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali who preceded the trial.
Najib Razak is still a member of the parliament with a barring order over any form of re-election until his sentence will be overturned and still has many charges against him, with each one amounting up to 20 years in prison per sentence.
