Saudi Foreign Minister Says Funds Given To PM Najib Was Investment And Not Donation
Doesn't seem like it's time to move on from issues and controversies.
By Sadho Ram — 06 Feb 2016, 05:27 PM
It seems PM Najib Razak has dug a rather hopeless hole for himself, one whose depth is only growing deeper with each passing day
Najib Razak prayed last week before meeting with reporters in Putrajaya.
Image via Mohd Rasfan/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAfter Malaysia's Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali, while speaking to a packed press conference on 26 January, ostentatiously claimed that the RM2.6 billion found in PM Najib's personal bank accounts was a personal "donation from the Saudi royal family" and "was given to him without any due consideration", the Saudi Foreign Minister has just called that story — to put it mildly — a big bunch of lie.
In a report published by the New York Times on 5 February, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was quoted as saying that while "he accepted the AG's opinion that there had been no wrongdoing, but he also said that he did not think that the money had come from the Saudi government or that it was a political donation." Instead, the minister said the money was from an unspecified "investment".
"It is (from) a private Saudi citizen, I believe, and the funds went to an investment in Malaysia," Al-Jubeir was quoted as saying in a report by The New York Times.
Furthermore, the NYT also quoted one member of the royal family and one associate of the family, speaking on the condition of anonymity, who confirmed that the money was not a donation
One member of the royal family and one associate of the family, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the money had come from a Saudi prince and confirmed that it was not a donation. The associate questioned the reported sum but said the funds were part of a business deal.
nytimes.com
The RM2.6 billion funds in PM Najib's personal bank accounts was first revealed in a Wall Street Journal report July 2015, citing leaked investigation papers, and was followed up by Sarawak Report.
Since then, Najib and his administration have displayed an astounding level of inconsistency in their response to questions relating to the money, which is aptly highlighted in this FB post:
