KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Attorney-General's Chambers confirmed on Wednesday (June 9) the existence of a royal order for the first time. This order, as reported by local media, is related to ex-premier Najib Razak's request to serve his prison sentence for corruption at home.

Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was convicted in 2020 for graft and money laundering associated with a massive scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

In 2022, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for these crimes, a term reduced by half last year by a pardons board led by then-King Al-Sultan Abdullah.

Najib, maintaining his innocence throughout, claims that along with the pardons board decision, he was also granted house arrest through an "addendum order" from the former king. According to him, this document was disregarded by authorities.

In January, Malaysia's Court of Appeal granted Najib's request to seek a judicial review compelling the government to verify the existence of the addendum order and enforce it if valid.

While Malaysian authorities, including the law and home ministries, had previously denied any knowledge of the document, a lawyer representing the attorney-general acknowledged the existence of the addendum document during questioning by a federal court judge on Wednesday, as reported by the New Straits Times daily.

Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan clarified that the AGC's challenge was not aimed at disputing the existence of the addendum document but rather at the procedural aspects of its submission as evidence in Najib's judicial review application.

A spokesperson for Najib confirmed the lawyer's statements made during a hearing on the government's appeal against the ex-premier's petition.

The AGC did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.

Investigations by Malaysian and US authorities suggest that approximately $4.5 billion was embezzled from 1MDB in a sophisticated, international scheme. It is alleged that over $1 billion was funneled into accounts associated with Najib, who played a key role in the establishment of the fund.