News by Timothy Achariam

He told the press after his SRC International Sdn Bhd trial today that “it was normal” for him to discuss these things privately with his wife.

Rizal was earlier jointly charged with Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in the corruption case.

"I will leave it to my lawyers. My lawyers will handle it."

He contended that his signatures could have been forged on documents that included SRC’s minutes of meetings and directors’ circular resolutions.

Responding to deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk V Sithambaram's suggestion that the running of SRC was a miserable failure, Najib said "we did not know it was so" at that time.

The document in question — labelled P530 by the court — claimed to be original by Ismee, contains Najib's instructions to SRC's board, including opening accounts at specific banks and the transfer of the company's first RM2 billion loan obtained from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) in 2011 to banks in Switzerland.

In his first interview with the media since fleeing Malaysia in 2015, the fugitive told Singapore’s The Straits Times newspaper that he is a convenient scapegoat in the multibillion-dollar global financial scandal by virtue of not being a politician.

Najib told the court he had next to no knowledge of the funds in his account when issuing cheques amounting to millions of ringgit.

However, when asked again by appointed prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram later, the former premier said he was not sure whether he signed it and wants the original meeting minutes to be produced to have it verified.

Najib told the court today he had next to no knowledge of the funds in his account when issuing cheques amounting to millions of ringgit.