Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak returned US$620 million of the US$681 million he allegedly received as an “Arab donation” because he was uncomfortable holding such a large sum in his bank account, the High Court heard today.
According to Bernama, Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client returned the money to Tanore Finance Corporation after the 13th General Election (GE13) in 2013, believing that Tanore was part of the Arab donation.
Shafee made the claim while questioning Angela Barkhouse, an offshore asset recovery expert and managing director of Kroll (Cayman) Ltd, who is the third plaintiff witness in the US$5.64 billion civil suit filed by 1MDB and its subsidiaries against Najib and six others.
He asked Barkhouse whether the return of the US$620 million was consistent with Najib’s claim that he believed the money was an Arab donation.
Barkhouse said she could not comment on the matter.
Shafee then asked whether she was aware that the US$620 million had been returned to Tanore shortly after the Malaysian general election, but Barkhouse said she was not certain of the election date and could not confirm it.
Tanore has previously been reported to have been controlled by Eric Tan Kim Loong, an associate of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.
Shafee also said the tracing of the funds showed that after the US$620 million was returned, its final destination did not lead back to Najib, a point Barkhouse agreed with.
The civil suit, filed by 1MDB and its subsidiaries on May 7, 2021, accuses Najib and six former 1MDB officials of breaches of trust, statutory duties and abuse of power, as well as conspiring to misappropriate 1MDB funds.
In a separate criminal proceeding against Najib, 1MDB trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah had ruled that available evidence, including bank records and money trails, showed that the US$681 million was in fact misappropriated from 1MDB.
The civil trial before Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus continues tomorrow.
