Najib claims RM2.6b was a ‘contingency fund' he requested from Saudi royalty
Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin
Malay Mail13 September 2018
Najib said he had requested the cash from the Saudi King, as a ‘contingency fund’ to aid during the elections. — Picture by Yusof Mat IsaMore
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said he had requested for cash from Saudi King Raja Abdullah when analysis conducted prior to the 13th general election had shown a bleak outlook and a tough upcoming election for Barisan Nasional (BN).
In a posting on his Facebook page, Najib explained how the RM2.6 billion which was allegedly misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad had ended up in his personal bank account.
He said the monies were deposited into his personal AmBank account over two transactions, an account he said was used exclusively for political purposes for several years.
“I also received information the Opposition had racked up a wealth of funds from local and international contributors, and from running the Selangor and Penang state administrations.
“Due to this, I was worried a repeat of “916” was very likely to happen after GE13,” he said in the post.
916 was an incident in 2008, when the Opposition led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had attempted to file a no-confidence motion against then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
It is said the attempt included buying over up to 40 BN MPs to join the Opposition to form the government.
Najib said he then requested the cash from the Saudi King, as a “contingency fund” to aid during the elections, to which the King then agreed to contribute an initial sum of US$800 million (RM3.31billion today).
However, Najib claimed he only received US$681 (then RM2.6billion) from the King’s various accounts, one of which came from a company named Tanore.
Tanore has been reported to be a supposed shell company used to wire funds from 1MDB to accounts of selected beneficiaries, including Najib’s.
Najib said since no repeat of “916” was on the horizon following GE13, he decided to return the cash to the Saudi King.
“Due to a depreciation of 10 per cent in exchange rate from March to August, after conversion only US$620 million (today RM2.57 billion) was returned to the King.
“In conclusion, I did not keep the RM2.6 billion. Even if someone wanted to steal, it doesn’t make sense to stash it in an account under their name, and we know it is not from 1MDB as those were funds sourced from loans,” he said.
Najib went on to claim today’s Pakatan Harapan leaders were well aware of the truth, but are in denial and are refusing to admit he did not pocket the cash to buy rings or handbags.
He also claimed it would not have been the best choice to expose to the world the local political landscape of MPs being bought at that time.
“Why didn’t I reveal this earlier? Like I have previously mentioned, King Abdullah had requested to keep mum on the donation, and besides, would it be right as a Prime Minister at that time to reveal the activities of buying MPs happening in the Malaysian democracy?” he said in the statement.
1MDB : RM2.973 billion deposited into Najib's personal account
Teoh Pei Ying, Mohd Azam Shah Yaacob
New Straits Times13 September 2018
KUALA LUMPUR: Police investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has revealed that USD972 million (RM2.973 billion) was transferred into former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's Amislamic Bank personal account. In revealing this, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the deposits were were made in three phases. "The money were transferred into his account by three companies, namely Good Star, AABAR and Tanore. “Police also detected 132 transactions of illegal funds connected to 1MDB to more than 50 recipients comrpising Malaysians and foreigners, and further investigations are ongoing,” he told a press conference today at Bukit Aman police headquarters on the development of 1MDB investigations.
Noor Rashid said statements have been recorded from 64 witnesses including Najib, his daughter Nooryana Najwa and several other individuals to help in investigations.
“The investigations involve local and overseas witnesses and it is very difficult because it requires the cooperation of affected countries for it to be completed,” he said in a press conference on the development of the investigations into 1MDB at Bukit Aman, here today.
When asked whether Malaysian politicians were among the 50 recipients, he replied: "Quite a number are politically affiliated." He said the Anti-Money Laundering crime investigation team under the Inspector-General of Police secretariat, had opened an investigation paper on 1MDB under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLA) 2001 on May 17.
He said acting on a report at Dang Wangi district police headquarters, police raided five premises and seizures were made under Section 45(2) of AMLA 2001. He said among the items seized were RM114 million cash including foreign currency; 12,080 units of jewellery; 566 bags; 437 watches and 234 glasses in various brands. "The seizures were made as we have reasonable cause and believe that the items were purchased using 1MDB money. "Under the provision of AMLA 2001, police are allowed to seize movable and immovable assets for a year for investigation purposes," he stressed. Noor Rashid said as of now, the owners of the items seized have yet to come forward to reclaim their valuables.
"Following this, police today served notices to the owners under Section 32 of AMLA 2001 to request them to give statements to our investigating officers. "We expect them to come to us in two, three days," he said. He said police were working closely with several countries to assist in investigations. "AMLA is in the process of collecting evidence and in the midst of calling in Malaysian and foreign witnesses to assist in the case. "Although this is a difficult case as it involves international authorities, we are confident we can complete investigations within a year," he said. © New Straits Times Press
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