Saudi foreign minister confirms massive ‘donation’ to Najib
PUBLISHED : Friday, 15 April, 2016, 4:44pm
UPDATED : Friday, 15 April, 2016, 4:44pm
Associated Press
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir confirmed that his country gave a “donation” to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the official news agency Bernama reported on Friday, marking another development in a scandal that has engulfed Najib’s administration.
“We are aware of the donation and it is a genuine donation with nothing expected in return. We are also fully aware that the Attorney General of Malaysia has thoroughly investigated the matter and found no wrongdoing. So as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed,” Bernama quoted him saying.
Adel had earlier held a bilateral meeting with Najib on the sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Istanbul on Thursday.
We are aware of the donation and it is a genuine donation with nothing expected in return
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir
A Wall Street Journal report caused a stir last July when it claimed that nearly US$700 million was deposited into Najib’s private bank accounts purportedly from firms linked to beleaguered state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Najib and 1MDB had previously denied the WSJ report.
Najib admitted receiving the money but maintained that it was a political donation although he never revealed the source.
[Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, holds a press conference on March 27 in Riyadh. Photo: AFP]
In January, Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said a probe by the anticorruption agency found that the US$681 million transferred into Najib’s accounts in March and April 2013 was indeed a “personal donation” from the Saudi royal family.
Apandi also said Najib returned US$620 million of unutilized money to the Saudis in August 2013.
Apandi concluded that Najib had not committed any criminal offences in relation to the “donation” nor were the transactions linked to SRC International.
SRC International used to be an energy company controlled by 1MDB but now is under the Finance Ministry, which Najib heads.
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The WSJ report sparked public outrage. Tens of thousands of Malaysians, including his chief critic, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, took to the streets last August calling for his resignation.
Apandi’s disclosure in January has not helped to close the matter given that his appointment as attorney general came under controversial circumstances. His predecessor, Abdul Gani Patail, was the head of a special task force investigating the WSJ claim but barely two weeks into the job, he was fired by Najib who then replaced him with Apandi.
While the Saudi Arabian foreign minister may have appeared to have thrown him a lifeline, Najib is still not out of the woods yet as he continues to grapple with the fallout from the 1MDB scandal.
1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Najib, is the subject of multiple probes both locally and internationally from Switzerland to the United States and Singapore, for corruption and money laundering.
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In January, just days after Apandi exonerated Najib over the donation issue, the Swiss Attorney General’s Office had said its probe into 1MDB revealed “serious indications” of misappropriation estimated at around US$4 billion.
A report from a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry released last week pointed to Najib’s involvement in the firm’s dealings although his lawyers claimed otherwise.
