July 8, 2015 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has reiterated that he had never taken funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) for personal gain. In a blog posting today, he said the allegations against him are part of a concerted campaign to oust a democratically elected prime minister.
“I would like to stress again that I have never taken 1MDB funds for personal gain. “The allegations by Wall Street Journal (WSJ) were made with ill intention and supported by certain parties in the country who want to force my resignation as prime minister and Umno president,” he said in his blog, NajibRazak.com.
Najib did not name the parties in question, but he had earlier accused former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad of working hand in glove with the foreign media to attack his administration. Najib also confirmed that he had instructed his lawyers to send a letter to the WSJ to seek clarification on the business daily’s “expose”, which was published last Friday.
Najib said in accordance with his wishes, his lawyers had asked the paper to confirm if the writers of the supposed expose had alleged misappropriation when they reported that some US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) had been transferred into his personal bank accounts. “My lawyers will take further action after receiving clarification from the newspaper,” he said.
In a report last Friday, the WSJ claimed that a money trail showed that US$700 million was moved between government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Najib’s personal bank accounts.