KUALA LUMPUR — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has apologised for the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
“It pains me every day that 1MDB happened when I was prime minister and finance minister, and I would like to apologise unreservedly,” Najib said in a statement read by his eldest son Datuk Nizar Najib in a press conference today at the court complex here.
In his statement, the former Pekan MP said he decided to make the apology “after much reflection over the course of 26 months in prison”, as well as recent developments relating to 1MDB.
These developments, he said, were recent court hearings and the conviction of PetroSaudi executives in Switzerland, which proved that he was not the mastermind of the 1MDB scandal.
Najib also cited an article by The Edge which analysed the case as well as “internal PetroSaudi emails in their possession”, which he said proved his innocence.
“I am not the mastermind and did not collaborate with Jho Low in deceiving 1MDB of its funds.
“I did not knowingly receive any monies from 1MDB-Petro Saudi funds,” the former prime minister said in the statement ready by Nizar.
He said he truly believed the funds were political donations from Saudi Arabia, and that court proceedings had confirmed there were two large donations from the kingdom in 2010.
However, Najib admitted that in hindsight, he should have acted differently when he was alerted to issues in 1MDB.
“I did initiate various investigations but I was inclined to believe the explanations by the board and management.
“And then when I became suspicious about what was actually transpiring at 1MDB, my immediate concerns were its financial predicaments and the risk it posed to diplomatic and bilateral relations at the highest level.”
Najib, who has been serving his prison sentence since August 23, 2022 for corruption involving former 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International, said he “deeply regretted” what had taken place at both SRC and 1MDB.
“I have already been punished politically but as I am clearly not the mastermind and neither did I collaborate with Jho Low as recent events have shown, I should not be victimized legally too.
“I am still in deep shock knowing now the extent of the wretched and unconscionable shenanigans, and illegal things that happened in 1MDB.
“However, being held legally responsible for things that I did not initiate or knowingly enable is unfair to me and I hope and pray that the judicial process will, in the end, prove my innocence.”
Najib’s apology comes ahead of his court date on Oct 30, when the Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide if he has to enter his defence on charges related to 1MDB.
He is facing four charges of abusing his position to obtain RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 money laundering charges involving the same amount.
In August, a Swiss court convicted PetroSaudi executives Patrick Mahony and Tarek Obaid for embezzling more than US$1.8 billion from 1MDB.
Prosecutors in the Swiss case said that both accused had deceived 1MDB’s board of directors into believing that PetroSaudi had links with the Saudi Arabian government. – October 24, 2024