FORMER prime minister Najib Razak received close to RM400 million from a Saudi prince in 2011, an anti-graft investigating officer told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission assistant commissioner (special operations) Rosli Husain said investigations showed that RM396 million was transferred into Najib’s private AmBank account ending “694” and that the money originated from Prince Faisal Turki Al Faisal Al Saud.
During cross-examination by defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh, Rosli also confirmed that the Saudi Finance Ministry transferred RM243 million more into Najib’s accounts.
In September last year, Najib posted on Facebook a purported letter from Saudi Prince Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saud dated February 1, 2011 acknowledging that the former prime minister was gifted with US$100 million (RM400 million) in recognition of his “contribution to the Islamic world”.
Prince Faisal was formerly reported to have been connected to Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners, a 1MDB-linked company mentioned in court.
Najib, in another Facebook post later that month, said the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had given him the donation to combat an uprising in Malaysia similar to the Arab Spring, which saw several leaders of Arab-Muslim countries toppled in the Middle East.
Najib posted three documents allegedly from King Abdullah, one bearing the words “Recognition of Contribution to the Islamic World” and dated February 1, 2011.
“The king was concerned after knowing there was the possibility of a Malaysian Spring, as Malaysia was also a Muslim country although it was not in the Middle East or Africa,” Najib said last year.
“Due to these concerns as well as our close relationship, in early 2011, the king promised to prepare funds for me and the party to be used in Malaysia,” he said.
Najib’s seven criminal charges are linked to RM4 billion in loans issued to the entity in 2011 and 2012, for which he is accused of receiving RM42 million in his accounts in 2014 and 2015.
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/
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