IN SHOCKING TIT-FOR-TAT BLAME GAME, NAJIB NOW POINTS THE RM2.6BIL GUN AT ZETI: ‘SHE KNEW ABOUT IT BEFORE GE13, SHE SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME IF THERE WAS SOME DOUBTS ABOUT ITS SOURCE’

Former premier Najib Abdul Razak claimed that Bank Negara governor Zeti Akthar Aziz was fully aware of the RM2.6 billion in his bank account before the 2013 general election but did not raise questions about it.

“If Bank Negara is in the know of these funds and they had an inkling or some knowledge that there could be some doubts about the source of the funds, I expected them to tell me.

“But nothing of that sort happened. So I assumed all along that it was fine,” he told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview last week.

Quizzed again if Zeti did not raise any red flags, Najib replied: “No there was no comeback from Bank Negara. I assumed everything was fine.”

Malaysiakini is attempting to contact Zeti for her response to this claim, which had been made earlier by others as well.

The former premier continues to maintain that the US$681 million (commonly referred to as RM2.6 billion) was a donation from a member of the Saudi royal family.

Najib also reiterated that he returned US$620 million of the US$681 million to the donor after the general election.

The US Department of Justice, in its civil forfeiture suits, alleged that the colossal sum originated from 1MDB.

Zeti, who retired in 2016 after serving 16 years as governor of the central bank, is now a member of the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) formed by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad after the May 9 general election.

Last Friday, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) announced that Zeti had been appointed as its group chairperson.

The former Bank Negara governor has not commented on the claim that she was aware of the RM2.6 billion, which was also raised by former Special Affairs Department (Jasa) director Puad Zarkashi during a meeting with Malaysian students in Canberra in 2016.

He told the students that Umno leaders met with Najib after the scandal erupted in 2015.

Puad said Najib admitted receiving the money and claimed he had discussed the matter with Zeti and even received the central bank’s approval to bring in the money.

He added that the former premier also possessed Bank Negara’s documents regarding the approval.

Following this, Malaysiakini had published a YourSay featuring readers’ comments titled, “Zeti, silence on RM2.6b is no longer an option.”

Zeti was also part of a task force probing the RM2.6 billion and RM42 million in Najib’s accounts, headed by former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail.

MKINI