Saudi Arabia says has nothing to do with RM2.6b issue: Malaysian Foreign Minister
27 October, 2018
The Saudi Arabian government has said that it has nothing to do with the RM2.6 billion donation allegedly received by former prime minister Najib Razak, said Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
Saifuddin made the comments after a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Wisma Putra on Friday (Oct 26), during which they discussed 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and the RM2.6 billion issue.
"He (Adel) stated that (RM2.6 billion issue) has nothing to do with the Saudi government," Saifuddin said.
Saifuddin said Adel had previously expressed the Saudi government's position on the issue when they met at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, with the latter saying that they had nothing to do with the money and would cooperate in the 1MDB investigations.
"Today he repeated the statement, " he told reporters after Adel's courtesy call on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
This contradicts a statement Adel made in 2016 at the 13th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, when he said that the money Najib received was a donation from Saudi Arabia.
"We are aware of the donation and it is really a donation expecting nothing in return. We are also aware that the Attorney-General of Malaysia has conducted a thorough investigation into the matter and found no misconduct.
"So, as far as we know, the issue is closed," Adel reportedly said in 2016.
In January that year, Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in connection with investigations into SRC International and the RM2.6 billion fund allegedly deposited into his personal account.
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