Malaysia’s attorney general has postponed former prime minister Najib Razak’s move from jail to house arrest after a court cleared him to start serving the rest of his sentence at home. The attorney general’s office said it needed more clarification on the terms of a royal pardon granted in September. In a statement, it sought a “temporary suspension of the execution of the house arrest,” adding that Najib would remain in prison during the pause. Najib’s legal team rejected the decision late Friday, saying the release process was already underway when the Attorney General’s Chambers announcement was issued. They said they viewed the statement as disregarding the King’s order, and confirmed Najib would remain in detention. A court order had allowed Najib to leave prison four years into his corruption sentence, following Sultan Ibrahim’s agreement to pardon him so he could serve the rest at home. The pardon involved a fine of 50 million ringgit, about $12m, raised by Najib’s party UMNO through crowdfunding because his bank accounts are frozen. Najib denies any wrongdoing. Najib has been held since 2022 after being convicted over corruption and embezzlement connected to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state investment fund he cofounded during his 2009 to 2018 tenure. Investigators said about $4.5bn was stolen from the fund, with more than $1bn linked to Najib. Separately, Najib was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $2.5bn for money laundering and abuse of power in another major 1MDB case. He is appealing that conviction, and his lawyers have requested that the jail term and fines be halted, citing poor health and an inability to pay the fine. Latest status: Najib’s transfer to house arrest is suspended for clarification on the pardon terms, and he remains in prison for now.