Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razaq sought the help of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed to conceal links to a multibillion dollar corruption case in which he was implicated, according to recordings released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In one audio recording dating back to 2016, Abdul Razaq asked the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince to forge a loan agreement to help his stepson, Hollywood producer Riza Aziz, who was facing a money laundering case at the time.
Abdul Razaq urged the senior UAE official to forge a loan agreement with Aziz to suggest money that flowed to him was “a legitimate… financing package, it’s not money-laundering”, according to the recording.
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“He’s totally innocent, all he wanted was to make movies,” Abdul Razak said in the recording.
The recordings showed evidence of “abuse of power, criminal conspiracy, obstruction of justice, compromising national security, fabrication of false evidence”, anti-graft agency chief Latheefa Koya said.
In court, Abdul Razak said he was “surprised” by the revelations.