A Malaysian court on Monday dismissed jailed ex-prime minister Najib Razak's bid to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, saying a royal document allowing the move was invalid as it was not made according to procedure.

Najib, imprisoned since August 2022 for his role in ⁠the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, was attempting to compel authorities to confirm the existence of and execute a royal order that he said was issued last year as part of a pardon by the then-king, entitling him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Alice Loke said the existence of the order was not in dispute but that the former king ⁠should have consulted the country's pardons board before making the order to allow Najib house arrest.

The decision to deny him house arrest comes just days before Najib faces his biggest trial in the 1MDB scandal, with another court set to deliver its judgement on Friday. Najib has denied all of the charges brought against him.

Najib is serving time for looting of the 1MDB state fund that toppled his government in 2018.

The 72-year-old was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving 42 million ringgit channelled into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

He began his sentence in August 2022 after losing his final appeal, becoming Malaysia’s first former leader to be jailed.

He filed an application in April 2024, saying he had information that then-King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah issued an addendum order allowing him to finish his sentence under house arrest. Najib claimed the addendum was issued during a pardons board meeting in January 2024, chaired by Sultan Abdullah, that shortened his punishment and sharply cut a fine.

On Friday, the former leader will also find out if he is acquitted or convicted in a second graft trial that ties him directly to the 1MDB scandal. The High Court will rule on four charges of abuse of power to obtain over US$700 million from 1MDB that went into Najib’s bank accounts, and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.

If found guilty, Najib faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of abuse of power and up to five years for each of the money laundering charges.

Najib set up the 1MDB development fund shortly after he took office in 2009. Investigators allege at least US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates through layers of bank accounts in the United States and other countries.

The funds were allegedly used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases that included hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry.

Najib denies wrongdoing, alleging that Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho duped him. Low, thought to be the mastermind of the scandal, remains at large.

A national outrage over the 1MDB scandal led to the historic 2018 election defeat of the party that had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

Despite his conviction, Najib still holds clout in his party, the United Malays National Organization, which is now part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government that took power after the 2022 elections. (Reuters/AP)