Najib Razak was found guilty of corruption involving theft from the 1MDB state fund in 2020.(AP: Vincent Thian, File)
Former prime minister Najib Razak has been discharged of money laundering charges.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in August 2022 after being found guilty of corruption.
He is also facing three separate money laundering charges.
Malaysia's High Court has discharged but not acquitted former prime minister Najib Razak of money laundering charges.
The long-running case involved a former unit of scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad), his lawyer said on Friday.
Mr Najib had been in prison since August 2022 after being found guilty of corruption and money laundering over funds misappropriated from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
Malaysian and US authorities said about $US4.5 billion ($6.8 billion) was stolen in a complex, globe-spanning scheme.
He was also facing three separate money laundering charges over 27 million ringgit ($9.8 million), allegedly misappropriated from SRC.
The case had repeatedly stalled since 2019 due to procedural delays, prompting the Kuala Lumpur High Court to grant Mr Najib's request for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on Friday, his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told reporters.
Muhammad Shafee said the decision was a fair one, as the prosecution remained free to re-file the charges once they were ready to proceed.
The attorney-general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Friday's decision was the second time 1MDB-linked charges filed against Mr Najib have been dropped.
Last year, a court allowed another DNAA request due to procedural delays in a corruption case against the ex-premier and the country's former treasury chief.
In 2023, he was also acquitted on separate charges of tampering with a government audit into 1MDB.
Mr Najib is still awaiting a verdict in the biggest trial he faces over the 1MDB scandal, with the court expected to hear closing arguments in October.
He has denied all of the charges brought against him.
Mr Najib is also bidding to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, and has sought to compel the government to confirm the existence of a royal order that he says would allow him to do so.
Topic:Defence and National Security