Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of abusing his power to plunder millions from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund and launder the proceeds.
His sentencing is likely to heap years onto the six-year term he is already serving for a separate case related to the now-defunct state investment vehicle.
Presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah convicted the 72-year-old former leader on all four counts of abuse of power, as well as all 21 counts of money laundering, involving around 2.28 billion ringgit (AU$840 million) from the fund.
Najib, dressed in a navy blue suit and white shirt, was seen looking down, slumped in his seat as the judge read the verdict.
While Najib, the son of one of the country's founding fathers, was groomed for leadership from a young age, he experienced a spectacular fall from power as public anger mounted over the corruption scandal.
Since his 2018 election loss, investigations under successive governments have ensnared him and his wife Rosmah Mansor in graft allegations.
Prosecutors say Najib abused his positions as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman to move vast sums from the fund into his personal accounts more than a decade ago.
According to investigators, proceeds from the fund were used to bankroll high-end real estate, a luxury yacht and precious artworks.
Delivering the verdict on Friday morning, Judge Sequerah dismissed several of the defence lawyers' arguments, including that Najib had been duped by his close associate, the shadowy businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low. Low denies all wrongdoing and his whereabouts are unknown.
Najib Razak has been in prison since August 2022. Source: AAP
He has apologised for allowing the 1MDB scandal to happen during his tenure, but has consistently denied wrongdoing, maintaining he knew nothing about illegal transfers from the fund.
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 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.
His legal battle was dealt yet another blow on Monday after he lost a bid to serve the remainder of his current jail term at home rather than the Kajang Prison outside Kuala Lumpur.
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