A Malaysian court on Friday, August 7th, 2026, deferred charges against former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was unable to attend his hearing in a multimillion-dollar corruption investigation due to hospitalization for a heart condition.

Ismail Sabri, 66, faces accusations linked to alleged abuse of power and money laundering following the arrests of a senior aide and others last February. Authorities seized approximately 170 million ringgit (US$41.5 million) in cash and 16 kilograms of gold ingots valued at 7 million ringgit, stored at an office believed to be used as a safe house by Ismail Sabri’s aide.

Amer Hamzah Arshad, Ismail Sabri’s lawyer, stated that his client was hospitalized after experiencing a health problem during questioning by anti-corruption officers and was scheduled to undergo a pacemaker procedure on the afternoon of the hearing. Additionally, Ismail Sabri had been briefly hospitalized two weeks earlier following a fall.

The former prime minister is the latest senior politician implicated in the government’s anti-misconduct crackdown under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Sources