Najib defends spending RM3.36m on Swiss jewellery

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has defended the RM3.36 million charged to his credit card in 2014 as him purchasing “gifts” for the royalty from another country.

“This expense is for gifts for the royalty and their entourage of a country which has good relations with our country,” Najib said in a Facebook posting last night, adding that the country is not Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi.

He said the royal family of this unidentified country had accompanied him and his family on a trip to Italy at that time.

“It is common practice to give gifts to the leaders of other countries.

“Usually the government will bear the costs of the gift, such as the fourth prime minister giving a huge gift for the private home of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe last time, but this time, I paid with my own credit card,” Najib said.

He stressed that the credit cards were registered under his name and not under SRC International Sdn Bhd.

It was reported yesterday that two credit cards under Najib’s name had been charged RM3.36 million in 10 transactions on the same day at the Swiss jeweller De Grisogono’s Italian outlet in 2014.

This was revealed by witness Yeoh Eng Leong, who is Ambank’s senior vice-president of Credit Card Authorisation and Fraud Management, in the SRC trial yesterday.

Yeoh also said the two credit cards had a cumulative credit limit of RM3 million.

In his Facebook posting, Najib said the RM3.36 million was the biggest purchase on those two credit cards, which he claimed he seldom used.

“The entire credit limit was used up in that one day on Aug 8, 2014,” he said.

The recipient of the gifts, he said, even wrote a letter dated Aug 15, 2014, thanking him for the gifts.

Najib also attached a picture of the letter in the posting, with the name of the recipient blacked out.

He explained that he hid the name of the recipient because it is unfair to circulate the recipient’s name publicly.

However, the original letter will be submitted to the court as evidence and his lawyer will provide an explanation then, he said.

Najib said he cannot explain this matter further as the trial is still ongoing.

“What I can say is that the news headline from this Pakatan Harapan government cannot all be trusted at face value because it is very selective.

“That is why I have asked for my trial proceedings to be broadcasted live so the rakyat can know the truth, but Harapan does not want this.

“I also believe that this explanation will not make it to the news on TV,” he said. - Mkini