Hello friends!A big day yesterday in Malaysia.

If you don’t quite have the brain-broadband to crack into Billion Dollar Whale or the Sarawak Report book, get onto iwonder. The documentary streaming service has The Kleptocrats which gives a fantastic overview of the entire case. I was lucky enough to catch a screening at the Projector in Singapore (Asean’s best cinema, duh) where it was treated by the audience as a black comedy. 

Before we crack in I’d really like to encourage readers to subscribe to Malaysiakini. The news site’s liveblog of proceedings has been an immense resource to so many people and they’re under renewed targeting by the unelected government amid a fresh crackdown on press freedoms. Through some ringgit their way to support their mission and thank them for their role in bringing this story to the world. 

Thanks!Erin Cook

Fahmi Reza, a Malaysian artist, was jailed in 2018 for his work mocking the then prime minister. He is delighting in the ruling and I’d suggest sticking close to his Instagram for now as he turns his schadenfreude into great works like this one.

The latest

Former prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of all seven charges by Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali in the first of his corruption cases relating to the 1MDB scandal. These charges include money laundering and the abuse of power, reports Channel News Asia.

He’ll spend the next 12 years in prison, with each count carrying 10 to 12 years all to be served concurrently. Najib will also be required to pay almost $50 million in fines or spend another five years in there. 

That’s it?

It’s not over yet. "I am surely not satisfied with the result. This is definitely not the end of the world, because there's a process of appeal, and we hope that we would be successful then," the former PM told reporters after the sentence was handed down, as reported by BBC.

The case is just the first of a handful dealing with the fall-out, so expect to see him in the courtroom again soon.

Supporters rally

“This is not fair! (Najib) is innocent. Bossku is a good man,” supporters cried out from outside the courthouse, using a nickname meaning ‘my boss’ he picked up in 2018.

The turn out of supporters had been large enough to worry local authorities that it could violate public gathering restrictions as the country begins to reopen, but they say supporters were responsive and the weather helped out.  

What about the other cast members?

That Jho Low news alert has been real quiet lately, no? Here’s a real ‘let them eat kue’ story from Rosmah over the weekend.

Getting the money back

Malaysia will recoup $2.5 billion from Goldman Sachs, the main financier of the fund, it was announced on Friday. Elsewhere, the bank guaranteed the recovery of a huge $1.4 billion in other assets that are believed to have been fleeced from the fund. 

In a very succinct paragraph, the Wall Street Journal explains the role: 

Goldman raised $6.5 billion for 1MDB through three bond sales in 2012 and 2013, much of which U.S. authorities say was stolen by a Malaysian government adviser, Jho Low. U.S. prosecutors say the bank ignored warning signs about Mr. Low and the fund in pursuit of fees that eventually reached about $600 million.

Last year, the prime minister Mahathir Mohamad turned down an offer of $1.75 billion and rebuked the firm to “respond reasonably.”

• Will verdict in Najib’s first 1MDB trial trip up Malaysia snap election contenders? (SCMP)

• Najib’s Guilty Verdict Could Strengthen Malaysia Leader’s Hand (Bloomberg)