Najib’s residence in one of Kuala Lumpur’s most exclusive neighbourhoods was designated a federal prison ahead of his return on Tuesday.
Critics argued that his release from jail undermined efforts to fight corruption and questioned the legal validity of house arrest, noting that Malaysian law does not explicitly provide for it.
The former prime minister, who governed from 2009 to 2018, denied any wrongdoing but was convicted on two separate occasions.
In the first trial, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison in 2020 and began serving his sentence in 2022, a term later reduced on appeal.
In September, the King of Malaysia granted a conditional pardon, enabling Najib to complete the remaining two years of his sentence at home.
The transfer to his mansion was initially scheduled for Friday but was postponed after the Attorney General sought clarification on the royal decree. On Tuesday, the high court ruled the house arrest effective immediately.
To secure the home custody arrangement, Najib’s party paid a $12 million fine as part of the terms of the royal pardon.
He was convicted of abuse of power, money laundering, and breach of trust regarding 42 million ringgit (approximately $10 million; £7.7 million) transferred from SRC International—a former unit of 1MDB—into his private accounts.
Currently, he is appealing a fifteen-year prison sentence handed down at a second trial in December 2025, involving far greater sums. In this case, he was found guilty of misappropriating nearly 2.3 billion Malaysian ringgit (roughly $569 million; £422 million) from the national sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Upon the conclusion of his home custody, he is expected to begin serving this sentence, anticipated in August 2028.