KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 4): As court payment counters closed for the day, imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has yet to pay the RM50 million fine which would pave the way for him to start serving the remainder of his prison sentence at home.
Payment counters at the Kuala Lumpur High Court closed at 4pm on Wednesday.
It is understood that due to the large sum involved, Najib or his representatives would have to physically pass a bank draft to the court. This would be followed by other administrative processes within the court.
Earlier on Wednesday, several news media, including The Edge, quoted sources who said that the RM50 million fine would be paid within the day.
However, Najib's lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah when met at the court complex said that he had no knowledge of the matter.
"As far as I am concerned, as of today, I have [received] no instructions," he said.
On Sept 18, it was announced that the Federal Territory Pardons Board — under the King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar — would allow Najib to serve the remainder of his reduced jail term under house arrest, with the caveat that he pays the RM50 million fine first.
Following this, Umno announced that it would crowd-fund the sum to help its former party chief.
Earlier on Wednesday, Astro Awani reported that Umno secretary general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki had told the private news broadcaster that crowdfunding collected by the party since Sept 18 was still insufficient to pay the fine.
According to the report, Asyraf did not disclose the current total collected thus far.
Shafee had also previously said that his client does not have the money at hand to pay the fine, as Najib’s assets remain under freezing orders and enforcement proceedings.
In the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, the court had upheld Najib's guilty verdict for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering as well as his 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine.
However, in 2024, the Pardons Board, under the then-Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, had reduced the sentence to six years and RM50 million.