Najib not disclosing anything new about Saudi donations: WSJ reporters

KUALA LUMPUR :  Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is not offering anything new when he disclosed the millions in donations he got in 2011 from the Saudi royal family, said Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope.

Mr Wright, via Twitter, said investigators around the world have said most of the US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) Najib received came from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), reported The New Straits Times.

"Najib Razak on Facebook says he received millions from Saudi Arabia in 2011. We have always reported that.

"It has nothing to do with US$681 million in 2013 that came from 1MDB, not to mention tens of millions more from the fund. Our book will detail all this," he said in his tweet.

Billion Dollar Whale will be released next week.

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Najib on Monday via his Facebook account had shared three documents related to the Saudi government's move to transfer donations to him, dated 2011.

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He said the donations came from Saudi Arabia's then King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud. He said he would reveal more on the issue, especially on the RM2.6 billion (S$860 million) issue.

Among the documents he shared were financial transaction statements dated Feb 24, 2011, and on Nov 25 that year.

According to Najib, he and his lawyers "spent a long time" getting the documents.

But Mr Wright disputed Najib's claim that he needed time to gather the documents.

"We've had them for years, and there's nothing new in them. And they don't explain why he received US$681 million in 1MDB cash."

His tweet went on to refer Najib to graphics published on Sept 1, 2016, in the WSJ, which described how Najib allegedly received more than US$1 billion in his personal bank account.

Mr Hopetweeted the documents Najib included were misleading, such as a letter puporting to be from the Saudi royal family, "which was created to mislead regulators and banks".