Najib reiterates innocence after 1MDB verdict, says money was spent on orphans, welfare programmes
Kuala Lumpur: Former Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak has reiterated his innocence after a guilty verdict in his first 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial, claiming that a majority of the money that he was accused of misappropriating was used for welfare activities.
In a video posted on his Facebook page on Monday night, Najib said that 99 per cent of the money was spent on corporate social responsibility activities.
“It was not for personal expenses or for my own comfort. As I said before, the court themselves verified that the money was not used for personal use. My contribution of RM400,000 (FJ$201,860.55) to Rumah Penyayang Tun Abdul Razak (orphanage) in Pekan was to look after orphans and their schooling expenses. For that, I was punished and fined RM2 million (FJ$1m), because I contributed for orphans.
“I was also fined RM3.25 million (FJ$ 1.64m) because I had donated RM650,000 (FJ$328,028.56) to UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) in Johor, Penang and Kedah for their welfare programmes,” he said.
Under the law, those convicted of money laundering will face a maximum of 15 years jail and a fine of RM5 million (FJ$2.52m), or five times the amount, whichever is higher, for each charge. Najib stated that there were many examples where he spent money not for himself, but for the party and the people.
He said that his charitable acts had resulted in broad support among the grassroots.
“I swear I will fight against this injustice and I will make full use of the appeal process,” he said in the video.