Recording Najib Wanted To Shield Stepson Paint Funds For Movie As Uae Loan

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Following the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) 1MDB-related civil forfeiture suits in 2016, former premier Najib Abdul Razak had purportedly attempted to shield his stepson Riza Aziz
This was revealed in the audio recordings released by MACC, which the commission said are authentic
According to MACC, Najib called United Arab Emirates crown prince Mohammed Zayed Al Nahyan twice on July 22, 2016
In the recordings played to the media at a press conference in Putrajaya today, the former premier made a "personal request" to Mohammed with regard to Riza

"I also have this personal request Your Highness in regard to Riza and his movie
"The problem is relatively small, there can be an agreement with Sheikh Mansour (then chairperson of the International Petroleum Investment Company Mansour Zayed al Nahyan) to have an agreement signed
“He (Riza) will pay back according to schedule, that will show that it is a legitimate financing package, and not money laundering," he said in one of the conversations
Najib claimed that Riza was under pressure and was being made a scapegoat
"I would appreciate if the agreement can be signed quickly with Sheikh Mansour, so that he can begin to pay back, so that it would appear as a legitimate loan agreement
"Because when he (Riza) received it, the banks cleared the source of money. He was not aware at all where it came from
"I don't want him to be a victim when he genuinely believed it was from Aabar (Investments). Remember, when we met for lunch... Your Highness also talked about helping him," he added
The DOJ had accused Riza's company Red Granite Pictures of using funds misappropriated from 1MDB to finance its films, including The Wolf of Wall Street
In an earlier phone call also on July 22, 2016, Najib told the crown prince that DOJ's announcement had placed a "dark cloud" over Malaysia
Najib then said it is important for Malaysia and UAE to resolve the impasse over 1MDB. This is believed to be in relation to 1MDB's failure to pay for bonds guaranteed by IPIC
[More to follow] - Mkini

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