EXCLUSIVE | Najib Abdul Razak has claimed that his recent interview with Reuters was “intentionally misinterpreted” by others to give the impression he was in the dark about 1MDB-related transactions.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, the former premier said he was aware of 1MDB's transactions, which the board would have vetted before he signed off on them.

However, he claimed that he was not aware of any alleged misuse of funds after 1MDB had paid its joint venture (JV) partners.

Najib also said the 1MDB board would have had to follow and be satisfied with its corporate due diligence processes before its officials asked him to formally sign off on proposed investments or transactions.

“What I meant is I was aware of the major investments and transactions, yes, but once the transactions and investments have taken place, subsequently, I was not aware, because that is the implementation stage, as well as some of the investments, were done overseas...