Malaysia: Ex-leader Najib seeks to leave prison for house arrest

Convicted for embezzlement, former Prime Minister Najib Razak hopes to serve his prison term under house arrest after his party paid a fine. But the attorney general later said his transfer was on hold temporarily. Malaysia's graft-convicted former Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to leave prison to sit out the remainder of a six-year sentence under house arrest, after his political party paid a 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million, €11 million) fine.

Najib's party, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), collected sufficient funds through a donation drive, Asyraf Wajid Dusuki, the party secretary-general, said in a statement on Friday. Although it was not immediately clear when Najib would be officially allowed to leave prison, the AFP news agency said a report saw him in a car driving away on Friday. Police were stationed at his house in Kuala Lumpur early Friday and the road leading to his home was blocked.

However, a later statement from Malaysia's attorney general's office relayed by Reuters seemed to cast the issue back into doubt.