UMNO Pays Najib Razak’s S$15.8 Million Fine After Crowdfunding Drive

UMNO says it has paid the RM50 million fine imposed on former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, after a public fundraising campaign collected enough to cover the amount. The payment was announced on Nov. 6 by party secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki in a Facebook post. Asyraf Wajdi said donations to the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund had reached the target and were sufficient. The fund was launched on Sept. 18, and the party has now closed the special account established to receive public contributions, according to the report. “UMNO has completed all payment processes to the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning,” Asyraf Wajdi wrote. The party organised the campaign because Najib’s personal and family assets remain frozen, the article says. Payment of the fine was a condition attached to an order allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest until Aug. 23, 2028, Malaysian outlet The Star reported. The arrangement follows his conviction in the multibillion-dollar embezzlement of 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state investment fund he co-founded. The fundraising effort places UMNO at the centre of Najib’s latest legal development: the party says it has completed the payment, while the reported house-arrest arrangement remains tied to that condition. The article does not provide details about the identities of individual donors or how much each contributed.