Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, convicted in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal (one of the world's largest corruption cases, involving billions of dollars siphoned from a state investment fund), has been granted a conditional royal pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence under house arrest. He will reside in a 37,000-square-foot double-storey bungalow in one of Kuala Lumpur's most exclusive neighbourhoods, a property estimated to be worth around $5 million. The arrangement has drawn scrutiny given the stark contrast with a conventional prison sentence, particularly as Najib must also pay a court-ordered fine of approximately $12 million to qualify for the concession.