In an interview with Reuters, the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said he is determined to stay in Malaysia and fight against the allegations, even if he faces the possibility of going to jail.
“No, I never had plans to leave. Because if I leave, there’s presumption of guilt,” he said.
“I cannot be a fugitive for the rest of my life. I want to clear my name.”
Najib, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal, said $681 million transferred into his personal bank account was a donation from Saudi Arabia, and not as U.S. lawsuits have alleged misappropriated funds from 1MDB.
Najib said the dead Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud gave him assurances that Saudi Arabia would be sending a donation.
However, this does not corroborate with his statement that he knows nothing of the money that was found in his private banking account at the AmBank in Malaysia.
“All I knew, I accepted at face value that this is coming from the Saudis, from King Abdullah at his behest, at his instruction,” Najib said to Reuters.
Najib said he had no knowledge of any transactions involving his personal account, as he had appointed Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (1MDB accused on the run), the director of SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, to manage it.