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The Federal Court ruling caps the stunning downfall of Najib, who until four years ago governed Malaysia with an iron grip and suppressed local investigations of the 1MDB scandal that has implicated financial institutions and high-ranking officials worldwide.
Having played golf with US presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, Najib will now count convicted murderers and drug traffickers as neighbours.
Residents of Putrajaya, where the court announced its verdict, were pleased with the result.
"From the bottom of my heart, I am happy justice is served and he deserved it," one resident, Fardlan, told Reuters.
Najib, 69, was found guilty by a lower court in July 2020 of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He had been out on bail and pending appeals.
The former premier, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to 12 years in jail and a 210 million ringgit ($46.84 million) fine.
Marina Ibrahim, the resident of Putrajaya, said she thought the sentencing was "well deserved".
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the court unanimously dismissed Najib's appeals and that the lower courts' conviction was safe.
Knocking back Najib's final appeal, the country's top court also denied his request for a stay of sentence.
Najib, dressed impeccably in a dark suit and grey tie, was seated in the dock as the verdict was read out. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, and three children were seated behind him.
A lawyer for Najib expressed his disappointment after Malaysia's Federal Court upheld a verdict.
"We're very sad because we lost the appeal… (only) the Almighty alone can dispense perfect justice," said Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who is head of Najib's legal team.
Najib said that he was not given a fair trial in his final appeal, hours before Malaysia's top court upholds a guilty verdict against him.
Speaking to supporters and members of the media outside the Federal Court, Najib thanked them and said everything he proposed to the court was rejected. "I did not get my justice and I didn't get a fair trial based on its principles," the ex-prime minister said.
A day before the final verdict, Najib said in a Facebook post that he was overwhelmed and felt betrayed and alone.
"There are times when we feel overwhelmed by tests and trials. With slander and persecution, sincerity is rewarded with betrayal. Sometimes we feel we are alone," he said.
He left the court in a black vehicle with a police escort shortly after he was ordered to begin a 12-year prison sentence. He arrived at the Kajang Prison at around 6.10 pm
Police are keeping a close eye on the current situation at the prison.
Members of the media have been barred from entering the Kajang Prison complex.
Vehicles were also seen making u-turns. A crowd had congregated soon after news broke that Najib was sent to the Kajang Prison.
It marked a stunning turn of events for a leader who held tightly on to power at the peak of accusations over 1MDB.
Najib had started his final attempt on August 15 to set aside his conviction in a corruption case linked to the 1MDB scandal. He had replaced his legal team just three weeks prior.
But his strategies backfired with the court declined to provide more time for his lawyers to prepare.
"I am not ashamed to say, I was desperate, as would (be) any litigant in my predicament," Najib said in a statement last week, explaining his move to change lawyers.
The 1MDB case, which has also implicated officials and financial institutions around the world and US Department of Justice has described as its biggest kleptocracy investigation, has since been widely seen as a test of the nation's resolve to stamp out corruption and which could have big political implications.
Protests erupted when allegations arose in 2015 following a report that claimed investigators looking into the firm found $681 million had been transferred to Najib's personal bank account.
Following the allegations, Malaysia's attorney-general cleared Najib of the offences, stating the $681 million was a gift from the royal family in Saudi Arabia.
Protests continued, and after Najib was ousted as Prime Minister following a general election in May 2018.
Najib tried to leave the country soon afterwards, but he was stopped, arrested briefly and Malaysians did not expect to see involving the son of the nation's well-respected second prime minister, Abdul Razak Hussein.
Police raided Najib's private residence, seizing 284 boxes containing designer handbags and dozens of bags filled with cash and jewellery amounting to more than $245 million.
Since then, the former premier has spent the better part of his time in court, defending himself against a total of 42 charges. He has maintained his innocence all along and said he was misled by 1MDB officials.
The dismissal of his final appeal on Tuesday involved a 2020 conviction by a lower court for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from a former unit of 1MDB.
The scandal has also ensnared Hollywood stars such as Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, whose charitable foundations received donations from 1MDB.
A Hollywood production company was accused in a U.S. civil lawsuit of using $100 million that prosecutors said had been diverted from 1MDB to finance DiCaprio's 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street", in which DiCaprio starred.
In October 2020, Goldman Sachs and its Malaysia subsidiary also pleaded guilty to U.S. Department of Justice charges over its role in Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal, paying nearly $3 billion to settle the charges over its role in the scandal.
Najib could now apply for a review of the Federal Court decision, though such applications are rarely successful.
He can also seek a royal pardon. If successful, he could be released without serving the full 12-year term.
The conviction means Najib will lose his parliamentary seat and cannot contest elections. He also faces several other 1MDB trials.
Najib was groomed for high office from his political debut, aged 23.
Until recently, he was the youngest person elected to parliament. The British-educated son of nobility was elected as premier in 2009.
Najib struck a reformist tone, pushing for liberal economic policies and repealing colonial-era security laws in a bid to shed the perception of a government unwilling to brook dissent.
But the disenchantment of Malaysia's ethnic minorities in a 2013 election prompted Najib to roll back his reform pledges in the face of anger over a perceived loss of long-held economic privileges by the majority ethnic Malays.
Majority Muslim Malays form 60% of a population of about 32 million, with the rest mostly made up of ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians.
In 2015, the first signs of scandal began to surface at 1MDB, prompting Najib to go after critics decisively.
It took a historic election victory by the opposition in 2018 for Malaysia to reopen 1MDB investigations that eventually led to dozens of charges against Najib.
Najib remains popular in some quarters, including his UMNO party, which came back to power last year amid political turmoil.
His regular jabs at the opposition and lighthearted updates on Facebook have drawn more than 4 million followers, making him Malaysia's most popular politician on social media.