00:00Malaysia's High Court has rejected Datuk Sri Najib Razak's bid to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest.
00:10The ruling means the 72-year-old will remain in Kajang Prison, where he has been held since 2022.
00:18Najib's defense team says they will be appealing the decision.
00:21Najib's legal team argued that a royal addendum order was issued, converting his jail term to house arrest.
00:30But Judge Ellis Lopes said while the order's existence was not in dispute, it was not legally enforceable because it was not made in consultation with the pardons board, as required under the Constitution.
00:42Najib is serving a reduced six-year sentence after pardons board last year halved his original 12-year term linked to the misappropriation of 43 million ringgit from SRC International.
00:53On Friday, the court is due to rule on additional corruption and money laundering charges against Najib, involving the illegal transfer of around 2.2 billion ringgit from the 1MDB scandal.
01:05If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison on each charge.
01:12Twelve paintings linked to Malaysia's 1MDB asset recovery efforts are being prepared for repatriation.
01:20Authorities are assessing the logistics of returning the high-value artworks, estimated to be worth more than 30 million U.S. dollars.
01:28Dato' Muhammad Zamri Zainul Abidin, Senior Director at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, said the paintings must be handled with extreme care, particularly if they are to be sold.
01:38The collection includes works by Pablo Picasso, William H. Bailey, and Alexander Calder.
01:44All 12 paintings are currently held at Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses in the United States.
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