Najib and his USD 681 million donation: ABC Four Corners may have exposed a concocted and false paper trail
by Ganesh Sahathevan
ABC Four Corners' Linton Besser reported in their story State Of Fear:
A high-level source has shown Four Corners the Malaysian prime minister's bank accounts. The banking documents reveal an extraordinary and steady flow of money between 2011 and 2014. By June 26, 2012, the bank records show deposits worth US$75 million from a Saudi prince, US$80 million from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance and another US$120 million from a shell company in the British Virgin Islands.
On the 21st of March, 2013, the prime minister received US$620 million from a different company registered there. Four days later, the same donor deposited another US$61 million.By the 10th of April, 2013, the prime minister had received more than US$1 billion.
While much of this has been reported elsewhere (see Sarawak Report,WSJ,and this blog) the above raises a number of issues which suggest that a paper trail has been concocted to justify the "donation" narrative that has been put out to justify the last two deposits, ie those of US$620 million and US$ 61 million.
To begin with, the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has been unequivocal in stating that the Saudi Government is in now way involved in that "donation":
In Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that he accepted the attorney general’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.“It is a private Saudi citizen, I believe, and the funds went to an investment in Malaysia,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
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.
Other Saudi Government officials have made clear that a payment into Najib's private bank accounts would be "unprecedented":
A Saudi government official, while declining to comment specifically on the prosecutor’s statement, said the Saudi ministries of foreign affairs and finance had no information about such a gift and that a royal donation to the personal bank account of a foreign leader would be unprecedented.
Yet ,the document provided the ABC shows a history of deposits by the Saudi Government and royal family, giving the impression that the USD 681 million "donation" must also be from the same source , as Najib claims, albeit from some secret off-shore shell.
ABC Four Corners' Linton Besser reported in their story State Of Fear:
A high-level source has shown Four Corners the Malaysian prime minister's bank accounts. The banking documents reveal an extraordinary and steady flow of money between 2011 and 2014. By June 26, 2012, the bank records show deposits worth US$75 million from a Saudi prince, US$80 million from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance and another US$120 million from a shell company in the British Virgin Islands.
On the 21st of March, 2013, the prime minister received US$620 million from a different company registered there. Four days later, the same donor deposited another US$61 million.By the 10th of April, 2013, the prime minister had received more than US$1 billion.
While much of this has been reported elsewhere (see Sarawak Report,WSJ,and this blog) the above raises a number of issues which suggest that a paper trail has been concocted to justify the "donation" narrative that has been put out to justify the last two deposits, ie those of US$620 million and US$ 61 million.
To begin with, the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has been unequivocal in stating that the Saudi Government is in now way involved in that "donation":
In Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that he accepted the attorney general’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.“It is a private Saudi citizen, I believe, and the funds went to an investment in Malaysia,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
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.
Other Saudi Government officials have made clear that a payment into Najib's private bank accounts would be "unprecedented":
A Saudi government official, while declining to comment specifically on the prosecutor’s statement, said the Saudi ministries of foreign affairs and finance had no information about such a gift and that a royal donation to the personal bank account of a foreign leader would be unprecedented.
Yet ,the document provided the ABC shows a history of deposits by the Saudi Government and royal family, giving the impression that the USD 681 million "donation" must also be from the same source , as Najib claims, albeit from some secret off-shore shell.
END
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