Did Najib return the money hoping Tanore was part of the donation?

Question

Accepted Answer

Najib Returned Funds to Tanore in Hope of it Being Part of Arab Donation

The High Court was informed that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak returned US$620 million of a purported US$681 million Arab donation due to discomfort with holding such a substantial sum. Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, stated that the funds were returned to the sender, Tanore Finance Corporation, after the 2013 general election, with the hope that Tanore was indeed connected to the Arab donation.
Circumstances of the Return

Muhammad Shafee indicated to an offshore asset recovery specialist that Najib’s decision to return the money stemmed from his personal unease about possessing a large amount in his bank account. This action was taken following the conclusion of the 13th General Election in 2013.
Counsel's Suggestion on Intent

The veteran lawyer proposed that Najib's return of the funds to Tanore was predicated on a belief or hope that Tanore represented a component of the original Arab donation. This was put forward during the questioning of a witness on the sixth day of a civil suit involving 1MDB.
Confirmation of Fund Return

While the witness could not confirm the exact date of the Malaysian election, it was established that the US$620 million was returned to Tanore. Previously, Tanore was reportedly controlled by Eric Tan Kim Loong, an associate of Jho Low.
Subsequent Fund Tracing

Further tracing of the funds, as stated by Muhammad Shafee, showed that the money did not ultimately lead back to Najib after its return to Tanore, a point with which the witness agreed. In a separate criminal proceeding, the trial judge had previously ruled that evidence indicated the US$681 million was misappropriated from 1MDB.

Reading history

Hide →

This history is cleared when the page is closed.

Did Najib return the money hoping Tanore was part of the donation?

Loading

Was this article helpful?

Helpful

Not helpful

Report an issue

1

0

0

Share with friends