Saudi minister who confirmed Najib’s ‘donation’ to meet Mahathir, Saifuddin

(Mkini) – Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel Ahmad Al-Jubeir, who had in 2016 said the multi-billion ringgit funds received by then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was a “genuine donation”, is in Malaysia on a three-day visit.

He arrived yesterday and is set to meet Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad tomorrow, after meeting Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah at Wisma Putra today, according to Bernama.

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said Adel’s visit will “provide an opportunity to discuss the strengthening of relations and exchanging views on international issues of mutual interest”.

In April 2016, Adel, during a meeting with the then foreign minister Anifah Aman in Istanbul, was asked about the multi-billion ringgit in Najib’s bank accounts.

Najib had consistently denied that the money was misappropriated from 1MDB and claimed that it was a donation from a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family.

Responding to this, Adel had said: “We are aware of the donation and it is genuine with nothing expected in return.

“We are also fully aware that the Attorney-General of Malaysia has thoroughly investigated the matter and found no wrongdoing.

“So, as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed”.

Following this, the BN government repeatedly referred to Adel’s statement in defending Najib.

BN was ousted in the May 9 general election, ending the coalition’s 61-year hold on power since independence.

Since then, investigators have re-opened the Malaysian investigations into Najib and concluded that the funds were misappropriated from 1MDB.

The findings were consistent with that of international investigators, which the BN government had repeatedly denied and claimed they were “foreign intervention”.