PUTRAJAYA: The four Arab donation letters relied on by Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his defence in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption case were “forgeries”, the High Court ruled today.
Presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, in delivering his verdict, said the letters were never produced in their original form before the court.
He said this was an attempt by the accused to legitimise his claim that the funds he received were donations.
Sequerah also noted that no verification was carried out by the former prime minister to ensure the funds originated from the family of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
“The accused anchored his belief on a wider circle of the royal family.
“The manner it was transmitted was entirely up to King Abdullah… this does not further the cause of the defence,” he said.
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Sequerah added that tracing of the funds showed they were channelled through third-party private companies — Vista Equity, Blackstone and Tanore — entities owned by fugitive financier Eric Tan.
He also found it unusual that no written acknowledgement was sent to the Arab monarch’s family to express gratitude for the alleged donation.
“The donation narrative was also not declared in the Cabinet minutes.
“He acted in wilful blindness, and hence the funds are considered highly questionable,” he said, adding that Najib had the resources to verify the legitimacy of the funds.
The judge ruled that the Arab donation narrative was not meritorious and that the funds were derived from 1MDB.
At press time, Sequerah was still reading his judgment.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
