Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali has revealed that a son of the late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud was the person who donated RM2.6 billion to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, February 6, 2016. A son of late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud was the person who donated RM2.6 billion to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali as quoted by Sinchew Daily in an exclusive interview today.
Apandi however did not disclose the identity of the donor. The late Saudi king, who died in January last year, had nine sons and 10 daughters.
"We know his (the donor) name. He is not the late Saudi King but the son of the king. He is still alive," the country's top prosecutor was quoted by the Chinese-language paper in an exclusive interview.
He was also quoted as saying that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had obtained a statement from the donor as detailed in the anti-graft agency's report.
He added that the motive behind the donation was not important as such a donation was not illegal under Malaysian law.
Earlier today, Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Adel al-Jubeir said he did not think that the RM2.6 billion that flowed into Prime Minister Najib’s bank account was from the Saudi government or that it was a political donation.
Speaking to The New York Times (NYT), he said the money went to an “investment in Malaysia”.
“It is a private Saudi citizen, I believe, and the funds went to an investment in Malaysia,” he said in an interview with the NYT published yesterday.
The daily also quoted a member of the royal family and a close associate of the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying that the money had come from a Saudi prince, but that it was not a donation.
The associate also reportedly questioned the sum, but said the funds were part of a business deal.
Last month, Apandi said the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal accounts was a donation from the Saudi royal family given “without any consideration” and closed the case.
But authorities in Switzerland investigating state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad uncovered that some US$4 billion (RM16.8 billion) have been misappropriated from state companies.
Swiss attorney-general Michael Lauber has also expressed concern over his Malaysian counterpart’s decision to stop investigations into the funds transferred into Najib’s accounts, saying the move could hamper Switzerland’s own probe into 1MDB.
Apandi responded that the ongoing Swiss investigations into 1MDB were separate from the donation case. – February 6, 2016.
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