KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak today (Dec 12) provided extensive details, explaining how he believed the hundreds of millions deposited into his personal bank account were donations from Saudi royalty.
The former prime minister has consistently maintained that he was always transparent about the funds deposited into his account, even going so far as to inform Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), despite not being obligated to do so.
According to evidence, the former Pekan member of parliament received US$99,999,976 (RM304,39,765.73) from Prince Faisal bin Turki and Ministry of Finance Riyadh between Feb 24, 2011 and Nov 29, 2011.
"I wanted to ensure full transparency regarding the account I was opening and its intended purpose.
"Former AmBank Bhd managing director Cheah Tek Kuang in his testimony said the then governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz acknowledged the matter and advised that everything should be carried out in compliance with existing banking regulations and BNM's procedure.
"My former private secretary the late Datuk Azlin Alias informed me that there was a letter from King Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al Saud dated Feb 1, 2011, who was the authorised representation of King Abdullah, informing me that I would be receiving a gift which I could utilise in my absolute discretion," he said.
Najib said this in his witness statement while defending himself against charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds.
Najib said he had no reason to believe that the funds in his bank account would be from an unlawful source.
He said it would be unimaginable for him to even harbour an inch of suspicion that the funds coming from such distinguished entities in Saudi Arabia could be illicit.
When questioned by his lawyer, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, about a letter from King Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al Saud, Najib explained that the document was used by AmBank's Compliance Department as supporting evidence for the remittances received from the Saudi royalty.
"The donation letters played a significant role in shaping my understanding of the funds received in my accounts, as I relied on the contents of all four letters as evidence that the funds were indeed donations from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"The letter explicitly confirmed the source and purpose of the funds, and I had no reason to doubt its authenticity, genuinely believing that the funds were lawful contributions from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he said.
Najib also ticked off star prosecution witnesses who testified in court, admitting that they had opened shell accounts to receive millions of funds allegedly belonging to the sovereign wealth fund.
"Unlike them, I opened my accounts in Malaysia under my own name and even provided my identification card to Cheah to ensure that my name was accurately recorded.
"I believe their decision to use offshore accounts under company names was motivated by their awareness that they were receiving funds linked to 1MDB," he added.
Najib faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.