King Abdullah meet not referred in Arab donation letter - Najib

Summary

• Ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak agrees with prosecutors that one of four alleged Arab donation letters did not specifically refer to his 2010 meeting with late Saudi monarch King Abdullah.

• In alleged meeting in Saudi Arabia, Najib claims Saudi monarch promised him financial support.

1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak conceded that his 2010 meeting with late Saudi monarch King Abdullah was not specifically referred to in one of four alleged Arab letters promising him a donation.

The former prime minister was replying to a question from deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar if the Feb 1, 2011, letter mentioned the alleged meeting.

"It made no reference," the former finance minister said, adding that it did not directly mention the meeting.

Najib claimed that King Abdullah in the 2010 meeting promised financial support to him, and he claimed four Arab letters - issued between Feb 1, 2011, to June 1, 2014 - promised him donations of US$100 million, US$375 million, US$800 million, £50 million.

Najib is relying on his belief in the Arab donation as a defence against four abuse of power charges and 21 money laundering counts involving RM2.27 billion of 1MDB's funds.

In the alleged letters, alleged Arab Prince Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al-Saud promised Najib the funds as a gift amounting to important recognition of the ex-premier's significant contribution to the Islamic world.

All four letters were addressed to Najib's residence at Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur.

During the 1MDB trial before the High Court convened in Putrajaya this afternoon, Kamal asked whether Saud was present at the 2010 meeting, to which Najib replied the letter-writer was not present as it was a state-level leader meeting.

Kamal: How did they (Arab royalty who allegedly wrote the donation letters) know your address (written in the letters)?

Najib: I am not sure.

Kamal: You never wondered from where they knew your address?

Najib: My address is public knowledge.

Kamal: Is it (Najib's address) on a website?

Najib: I am not sure, but many people know.

Kamal: I did not know (before the 1MDB case).

Najib: Can if try hard enough (Kalau ikhtiar pasti jumpa).

Jho Low arranged meeting

Najib explained that the 2010 meeting was arranged by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), who had close relations with Saudi royalty.

Najib said during a private meeting with King Abdullah - whereby the Malaysian delegation was not part of as they stayed a certain distance - the late monarch allegedly made the financial support promise.

"I discussed with King Abdullah over the Malaysian government's intention to strengthen strategic ties with Saudi Arabia in every field, economic, diplomatic, and also Haj arrangement," Najib said, adding that the monarch then promised financial assistance.

Najib disagreed with Kamal's contention that King Abdullah never made the financial assistance promise.

During the trial, the accused also disagreed with the prosecution's contention that his line of defence that the charges were not clearly worded only came late in the trial.

Najib denied deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib's cross-examination contention, claiming that he raised the issue of the lack of clarity of the charges very early on in the trial that began in 2019.

Akram: I put it to you that your (claim of) not understanding the charges through 49th prosecution witness (MACC investigating officer Nur Aida Arifin when she was grilled by Najib's legal team) is merely an attempt by you to mount a technical challenge at the eleventh hour in this case as you know the evidence against you - from first prosecution witness to 48th prosecution witness - is so overwhelming.

Najib: I disagree.

The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow.

Answerable case

On Oct 30, the criminal court ordered Najib to enter his defence over four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion of funds from troubled sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against Najib over the Minister of Finance Incorporated’s (MOF Inc) wholly owned company.

The judge ruled that Najib had to answer the charges due to the strength of the various 50 witness testimonies during the prosecution stage of proceedings that lasted six years since the trial began in 2019. The accused was first charged in 2018.

Since the prima facie ruling, Najib has been testifying in his defence against the 1MDB criminal charges.

The accused maintained that he had no knowledge of wrongdoing at 1MDB and that the embezzlement at the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund was solely masterminded by Low and members of its management.

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah represented Najib.

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