Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was found guilty on Friday of abusing his power in the 1MDB graft scandal, which saw billions plundered from the now-defunct sovereign wealth fund.

"The contention by the accused that the charges ⁠against him were a witch hunt and politically motivated were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence against him that pointed towards the accused ‍having abused his own powerful position in 1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him," Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said in an ongoing reading of the verdict.

The judge had yet to deliver the full verdict and sentencing.

Since Najib's 2018 election loss, investigations under successive governments have ensnared him and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

In the current court battle, the 72-year-old former leader stands accused of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering linked to a scandal that sparked probes in several countries, including the United States, and dented Malaysia's international image.

Najib could face maximum jail terms of between 15 and 20 years on each charge, as well as a fine of up to five times the value of the alleged misappropriations.

Najib, 72, has been in prison since August 2022, when Malaysia's top court upheld a verdict convicting him of corruption for illegally receiving funds from a 1MDB unit. His 12-year jail sentence in that case was halved last year by a pardons board. (Agencies)