Lawyer Shafee rubbishes reports of Najib paying RM50m fine today for house arrest

Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah speaks during a press conference at the Federal Court in Putrajaya on December 26, 2025. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

By Malay Mail

First Published: Wednesday, 04 Nov 2026 11:28 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak's lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has dismissed speculation that the imprisoned former prime minister is paying his RM50 million fine today, saying he has received no instructions regarding any settlement.

Speaking to reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex, Shafee rejected earlier media reports suggesting that a representative would deliver the multi-million-ringgit payment to court registry officials this morning, FMT reported.

“I did not receive any instructions on this. Maybe some reporters created this news,” Shafee told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex.

Settling the RM50 million penalty serves as the prerequisite to activate the conditional pardon granted by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, in September. Under the decree, the 73-year-old former premier would be permitted to serve the remainder of his reduced prison term under house detention until Aug 23, 2028, subject to administrative terms set by authorities.

The lack of payment follows remarks on Sunday by Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, who confirmed that the prosecution had not received proof of settlement. Dusuki noted that while the royal pardon does not impose a rigid deadline, Najib must remain behind bars in Kajang Prison for as long as the fine stays unpaid.

The uncertainty also coincides with an ongoing public fundraising drive launched by Umno to help its former president cover the sum. Speaking at an event in Melaka yesterday, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki acknowledged that the party's crowdfunding campaign has yet to reach the RM50 million target needed to settle the fine.

Najib was imprisoned in August 2022 after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd, which originally carried a 12-year jail term and an RM210 million fine.

In January 2024, the Federal Territories Pardons Board halved his sentence to six years and reduced the fine to RM50 million. Najib is separately appealing a December 2025 High Court conviction in the 1MDB corruption trial, where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined RM11.4 billiona.