Najib: Illogical that two Saudi princes would join Jho Low’s criminal conspiracy to give me RM60m; donation was not 1MDB money

Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today insisted that the RM60 million which entered his personal AmIslamic bank account in 2011 was not stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and channelled through two Saudi princes to him.

Najib, 71, said it would not be logical that two Saudi princes would take part in a criminal scheme by Low Taek Jho – a Malaysian fugitive better known as Jho Low – to steal money from 1MDB.

Instead, Najib said the RM60,629,839.93 – which he received in two batches of US$10 million in February and June 2011 from the two Saudi princes – was a donation and financial support that the late Saudi Ruler King Abdullah had promised to him.

“These funds were a donation gifted by King Abdullah and were transferred through the Riyad Bank account held in the joint names of HRH Prince Faisal bin Turki Al-Saud and HRH Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,” Najib testified from the witness stand in his own defence in his 1MDB trial.

Asked to respond to the prosecution’s allegation that 1MDB’s money went through Low’s Good Star Limited and then to the two Saudi princes’ Riyad Bank joint account before RM60 million reached him, Najib said: “This allegation is utterly absurd and defies logic.”

“I cannot understand why two princes, HRH Prince Faisal bin Turki Al-Saud and HRH Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, would conspire with Jho Low to use their joint account to purportedly commit a criminal act to facilitate the misappropriation of funds to me for which these two princes would receive only US$4.5 million.

“Such a suggestion is beyond ridiculous and reflects the prosecution’s desperation to construct a narrative that has no basis in reality,” he said.

Najib rubbished the idea that the two princes would join in such a scheme to defraud 1MDB of its money.

“I cannot fathom the ludicrousness of the prosecution’s claim that two Saudi princes, who are by no means short of money, would agree to such a scheme and tarnish their own reputations by participating in a criminal conspiracy with Jho Low.

“The notion that these two princes, prominent members of the Saudi royal family with immense resources, would willingly involve themselves in such a scheme defies all common sense and logic,” he added.

Najib accused the prosecution of making the claim without any credible supporting evidence.

Najib said that the prosecution should have produced bank statements from Riyad Bank to prove that the RM60 million did not come from legitimate sources linked to King Abdullah, if the prosecution’s claim is true.

Asked by defence lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, Najib said that the fact that the money came from the joint account of the two princes made him “believe” that it was a “genuine donation”.

Najib said he was never alerted that the RM60 million did not come from a purported donation from the Saudi government.

When referred to the two banking documents on the two transfers of US$10 million (totalling US$20 million or RM60 million) on February 24, 2011 and June 14, 2011 to him, Najib confirmed that the documents showed Prince Faisal’s name as the ordering customer with an address at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and with the ordering customer being Riyad Bank in Saudi Arabia, and the beneficiary customer being AmPrivate Banking-MR, Malaysia.

Asked to explain Prince Faisal’s relationship to King Abdullah since Najib had said the RM60 million was a donation gifted by the Saudi ruler, Najib said Prince Faisal is “part of the Saudi royal family”.

Najib said he did tell 1MDB investigators that he believed the RM60 million came from King Abdullah and the Saudi government.

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