KUALA LUMPUR: An investigating officer today confirmed that Datuk Seri Najib Razak had indeed received millions of funds from the Saudi prince and its government in 2011.
The Police Anti-Money Laundering Criminal Investigation Division assistant director ACP Foo Wei Min said this when testifying in Najib's corruption trial for misappropriating funds belonging to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, at the outset of the trial, said several transactions in his client's account were recorded as coming from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance and Prince Faisal bin Turki Al Saud, which the witness agreed.
He said this was in line with the defence contention that Najib had opened the account at Ambank as he was expecting donations to come from the middle eastern country.
Shafee: Najib opened this account in order to receive a donation from Saudi which was indicated to him during his meeting with King Abdullah.
Foo: Yes.
Shafee: The first seven transactions in this account. It was recorded as coming from Saudi Arabia and consistent with his (Najib)'s claim regarding the donations.
Foo: Yes.
The 48th prosecution witness also confirmed that the former prime minister, during the probe, also informed the investigators that he had been expecting donations from Saudi Arabia.
On Sept 18, a Bank Negara Malaysia analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan also testified that Najib received over RM60.6 million from the Saudi prince between Feb 23 and June 13, 2011.
However, the 29-year-old analyst believed that the account (Riyad) was a "pass-through" account to transfer money belonging to 1MDB.
Adam Ariff said Good Star Ltd, an entity owned by Low Taek Jho, had previously sent millions in funds to the same account in Riyad Bank purportedly owned by Prince Faisal.
The 47th prosecution witness testified that Low through Good Star received US$810 million belonging to the sovereign wealth fund in a span of three years.
He disclosed that 1MDB had transferred US$700,000,000 and US$110,000,000 into the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Coutts account belonging to Good Star in 2011.
Najib, 70, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
Hearing before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.