Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed speaks during a conference on financial crime in Kuala Lumpur October 30, 2018. ― Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 ― The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission found Datuk Seri Najib Razak's claim that the RM2.6 billion he received was a donation from Saudi royalty to be false after meeting US officials, Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed revealed today.

The National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) head said the evidence presented to the agency he led during a meeting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice in Washington contradicted Najib’s claim.

In 2015, the MACC issued a statement confirming that the deposit was indeed a donation, and not siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as was widely speculated at the time.

When asked to clarify, Abu Kassim said the 2015 statement was issued based on available information at the time.

“MACC, as far as I know, never confirmed it's final that the RM2.6 billion was a donation,” he told reporters after briefing an international conference on financial crime here.

“Maybe at the time, (based on) the criminal investigation, maybe. But when the investigation progressed they found the truth.

“Especially after I went to the US and met the FBI and DOJ we discovered that the money is not donation,” the former MACC chief commissioner added.

In its 2015 statement, the MACC said it obtained an explanation about the donation from the donor personally, at that time said to be from a Saudi prince.

Details about the donor were collected through a bank document, according to the agency, which also claimed to have found four letters that were purportedly mailed to AmBank when the money was wired into Najib's account.

The statement then concluded that the RM2.6 billion was indeed a donation based on the documents obtained at the time.

To date, Najib has been charged with over 30 counts of money laundering offences, corruption and criminal breach of trust over allegations that he embezzled billions of ringgit from 1MDB, a state investment fund he helped found.

The trial, to start next year, is set to reveal more details about the alleged financial misappropriation and how the RM2.6 billion had end up in the former premier's personal account.

“The court case will reveal the truth,” Abu Kassim said when asked to state if the 2015 statement issued by MACC was incorrect, or perhaps could have been forced out by political pressure.