He also said that he had explanations about the vast amounts of cash, luxury handbags and jewelry seized from his homes by Malaysian authorities.
In his first sit-down interview with Reuters since his shock May 9 election defeat, Najib claimed that his advisors and the management and board of 1MDB had wrongly kept him in the dark about the alleged embezzlement of the fund.
He said he did not know if hundreds of millions of dollars that moved through his personal account was from 1MDB and if money from the fund was eventually laundered to acquire assets globally, including yachts, paintings, gems and prime real estate.
“I am not a party to the yacht, the paintings…I’ve never seen those paintings whatsoever, said Najib, adding “I was not aware of these purchases. This was done without my knowledge. I would never authorize 1MDB funds to be used for any of these items. I’ve been in government so long, I know what’s right and what’s wrong.”
However, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told Reuters on Tuesday that the authorities have “an almost perfect case” against Najib on charges of embezzlement, misappropriation, and bribery linked to 1MDB.
The former prime minister said the public seizure of handbags and other luxury items created a negative perception, but most were gifts given to his wife and daughter and had nothing to do with 1MDB.
He said his son-in-law Daniyar Nazarbayev, the nephew of Kazakstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev also gave many handbags to his wife, Rosmah Mansor.
“People might find it hard to understand, but my son-in-law, for example, he gets Birkin from his source, five or six at one go,” said Najib.
In the interview, Najib also, for the first time, spoke at length about Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian financier described as a key figure who benefited from the 1MDB fund.
He said he felt Low’s connections in the Middle East, particularly with
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates could be helpful in pulling in more investment to Malaysia.
But he said he never instructed Low to get involved in 1 MDB and had no control over what he did.
About the case against him, Najib said he was determined to stay in Malaysia to fight the allegations against him even if he faces the possibility of going to jail.
