KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): The Saudi royal family intended to donate another US$800 million to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2013, according to the former prime minister's lawyers.
Defence counsel Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed contended that the sum was part of the monies that made their way into Najib's account, and which the former premier is being tried for.
Wan Aizuddin on Monday (Oct 3) introduced another letter from former Madinah province governor Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al Saud, addressed to Najib in March 2013.
Reading from the letter, Wan Aizuddin said that Saud gifted another US$800 million, which shall be remitted to the former premier "at such times and such manner" as he deemed fit, either directly from his personal account or through instructed companies such as Tanore Finance Corp.
This donation was for the work Najib had done to govern the country, in line with Islamic principles, and his Global Movement of the Moderates to deal with terrorism and extremist groups.
Wan Aizuddin said this while cross-examining Yap Wai Keat, the head of AmBank's private banking capital market desk.
Wan Aizuddin: You see in the middle [of the letter,] Saud said that he will be sending Najib a sum of up to US$800 million, and would you agree that based on the two remittance forms which would total up to [US$680 million], [it] would be well covered under the amount of US$800 million?
Yap: Yes.
Wan Aizuddin: And would you also agree the sending entity of [the US$680 million,] Tanore Finance Corp, is mentioned to be an outfit of the Saudi prince?
Yap: Yes.
The sum is pertinent as it forms the third abuse of power charge the former prime minister is facing in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial.
When asked if Yap had ever seen this letter before, the prosecution's 38th witness said that while he could not recall, there was a possibility that former AmBank relationship manager Joanne Yu could have shown it to him.
"The relationship manager would have said that the [transaction] was for a gift, and that there was a letter that came with it," he said.
Yap, who has been on the stand since last week, has verified conversions of funds in US dollars to ringgit and vice versa, which flowed in and out of Najib's account from 2011 to 2013.
He, however, was only involved in the quotations of foreign exchange rates — per the current market rate — for inwards or outwards remittances.
In the letter, Wan Aizuddin said that Saud indicated that the donation was a gesture of "good faith", and said that the gift should not be construed as an act of corruption since it would be against the practice of Islam.
This is the third letter of its kind which the defence has introduced. During proceedings last week, the defence submitted two other letters from Saud addressed to Najib in 2011.
According to the February 2011 letter, Najib was given US$100 million, while according to the November 2011 letter, the ex-premier was gifted with US$375 million.
In the second letter, Saud similarly indicated that the monies would be remitted to Najib when he deemed fit, either personally or through companies affiliated with him. One such company would be Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners Ltd.
The prosecution has said that Tanore and Blackstone are companies linked to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), which among others funnelled the ill-gotten gains of 1MDB to Najib's accounts.
The claim that the money that went into Najib's account was donations has been repeated by the defence from the start of this trial — as well as throughout the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, for which the former prime minister has been found guilty of all seven graft charges in relation to funds of the former 1MDB unit.
Najib is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence, as the apex court has dismissed his final appeal in the RM42 million SRC case.
The trial before High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues in the afternoon.
The Edge is covering the trial live here.
Users of The Edge Markets app may tap here to access the live report.