KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today was told that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak informed police investigators that he had opened his personal AmIslamic bank account in preparation to receive the alleged donations from Saudi Arabia.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Foo Wei Min as the 48th prosecution witness testified in the High Court during 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial today (8th Nov) when he was cross-examined by Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Foo confirmed that money from the bank based in Saudi Arabia had been sent to Najib’s bank account with the number ending 9694 and the codename “AmPrivate Banking -MR” which was opened on 13th January 2011.
When cross-examined by Shafee, Foo agreed that donations from Saudi Arabia was from the Riyad Bank while some of the money which entered into Najib’s AmPrivate Banking-MR” account came from Saudi’s Ministry of Finance and Prince Faisal bin Turki Al Saud.
Foo answered “Yes” when Shafee suggested that the first seven transactions in Najib’s “AmPrivate Banking-MR” account that were recorded as coming from Saudi was “consistent” with Najib’s claim regarding the Saudi donations.
Apart from the RM500 initial deposit made in the “AmPrivate Banking -MR” account Shafee also asked Foo about the seven transactions between 2011 to 2012 of money coming in from Saudi’s Ministry of Finance and the individual “Prince Faisal” via their bank accounts in Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank.
The seven transactions that entered Najib’s account were from the Ministry of Finance’s Riyad Bank account at nearly US$50 million and nearly US$30 million in August and November 2011 and from Prince Faisal’s Riyad Bank account at nearly US$50 million , nearly US10 million, nearly US$10 million nearly US$30 million, nearly US$25 million from 2011 to 2012.
‘Shafee said, if the seven transactions are totalled up, it would be nearly US$205 million.
Najib is on trial in relation to more than RM2.27 billion of funds misappropriated from 1MDB. These funds were alleged to have entered Najib’s private AmIslamic bank accounts.
According to Malay Mail report, during the 1MDB trial, Najib lawyers had repeatedly claimed that he had believed the RM2.27 billion which entered his personal bank accounts were donations and produced four purported letters from a purported Saudi prince-who had alternately signed off the letters as “Saud Abdulaziz Al Saud”, “HRH Prince Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saud” and Saud Abdulaziz Al Saud – which promised huge sums of money as gifts.
The four purported letters addressed to Najib dated February 1, 2011 with a purported promise of a gift US$100 million followed by a November 1, 2011 letter promising a gift of US$375 million, a March 1, 2013 letter promising a gift of US$800 million and a June 1, 2014 letter promising 50 million pound.
However, the prosecution had in December 2022 insisted that Najib will not be able to use these four letters to defend himself over the RM2.27 billion as other courts had found the letters to be a fabrication.
Meanwhile, the trial resumes tomorrow before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah. -Malaysia World News
