As such, Najib said in a Facebook post that his lawyers intended to ask the MACC for the recordings as evidence for his defence and in the case of his stepson, Riza Aziz.
Earlier today, the MACC released alleged audio recordings of Najib and several officials in discussions over dealings linked to 1MDB and SRC International.
MACC said one conversation between Najib and United Arab Emirates’ crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Zayed Al Nahyan showed an attempt to cover up alleged money laundering activities in the production of Hollywood movie The Wolf of Wall Street, produced by Riza.
Najib said the recordings showed he tried to resolve the 1MDB issue in a good way in the interest of Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates and that the case was linked to some individuals close to leaders in Abu Dhabi.
“IPC chairman Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi crown prince said before that they would invest in Riza’s film projects and this was confirmed in the conversation.
“Riza and I did not know the source of the funds received by Riza and believed there was no issue with the funds as it was approved by the recipient’s bank.”
Najib claimed MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya had defamed him by describing the conversations as a cover-up or a political conspiracy to cover up (a crime).
This, he said, was strange as the MACC was aware of the original investment agreement in 2012 signed by Aabar BVI’s CEO when they began investing in Riza’s film, and that this was among the evidence they produced in charging Riza.
Najib said Riza had repaid a portion of the funds to Aabar BVI before the company closed in late 2014.
Subsequently, he and Riza asked for a new agreement from the Abu Dhabi government so that Riza could continue repaying the money according to the agreed schedule.
The main aim of this, Najib said, was to ensure the funds were repaid as Riza did not want to be involved with any problematic funds.
“The new agreement we sought is not a cover-up and it makes no sense that the (United States) Department of Justice will believe that an agreement signed in 2016 was backdated to 2012 when Riza first received funds, as at the time, the original agreement was in force.”
Still, Najib said the recordings needed to be verified and confirmed to be in accordance with laws, including whether there was any ill intent in recording the conversations to be used later as evidence in court.
Najib also highlighted questions which have arisen from the release of the recordings, including whether the MACC was in contempt of court given that the 1MDB case was still being heard.
He also questioned how the MACC could reveal recordings which were unverified and why there were no recordings of him speaking to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low even though Pakatan Harapan had accused him and Low of conspiring over 1MDB.