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DATUK Seri Najib Razak said that all his actions were in line with the belief that the money transferred into his account was a donation promised by the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
The former Prime Minister stressed that the actions involved were not the same as the prosecution witnesses who testified against him in court, and that he did not have any offshore accounts at all.
Unlike Jasmine Loo Ai Swan (former 1Malaysia Development Berhad lawyer) and his former special officer, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin who registered bank accounts through offshore companies, Najib instead opened a bank account at a local bank.
In fact, he said, the Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia at the time, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, was immediately informed of the purpose of opening the account, which was to receive donations from the Saudi Arabian government.
No paintings worth millions of ringgit
He also argued how the donations were spent, which was specifically for political and community welfare purposes.
"The expenses were made by cheque, with every cent of the expenditure recorded. No paintings worth millions of ringgit or luxury properties were purchased from the funds I received.
"Indeed. it is very surprising that despite the media hype regarding the amount of US$681 million, the entire amount has never been proven to be traceable to 1MDB.
"Even more surprising is the fact that I myself returned US$620 million to the original account because the funds were no longer needed.
"Before returning the donations, I wrote a letter to the Governor seeking official approval for the return.
"I would probably be the only alleged 'corrupt politician/money launderer' who returns the so-called gratification that he worked so hard to obtain, and probably the first in recorded history to have announced his 'ill-gotten' money to the BNM governor of all people," he said.
Najib, 71, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, Jalan Raja Chulan between February 24, 2011 and December 19, 2014.
He was charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009 and is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same act.
As for the 21 money laundering charges, Najib is accused of committing the act at the same bank between March 22 and August 30, 2013, under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of five years, a fine of RM5 million or both, if convicted.
Najib has been serving a prison sentence at Kajang Prison since 23 August 2022 after being convicted in a separate criminal case involving the embezzlement of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
Following the conviction, the former Pekan MP filed a royal pardon petition on 2 September 2022, which led to a reduction in his prison sentence from 12 years to six years and a fine from RM210 million to RM50 million. – October 21, 2025
