In an apparent move to justify the “Saudi donation” narrative, former premier Najib Abdul Razak has released a slew of documents related to the multi-billion ringgit deposits in his personal bank account.

Ironically, the same documents also verify the various reports and investigations which claim the money originated from 1MDB and accused him of misappropriating billions in state funds.

For example, in a Facebook post yesterday, Najib cited the Wall Street Journal and a book written by the news outlet's journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope "The Billion Dollar Whale" which detailed the 1MDB scandal, in order to show that he had "returned" the so-called "donation".

The book does state that Najib returned US$620 million out of the US$681 million he received in 2013, but also claims that the "returned" money was subsequently used to purchase, among others, a US$27.3 million pink diamond pendant for his wife, Rosmah Mansor.

This sum comprised only two of many deposits into his personal bank account.

Curiously, Najib is lending credence to the international news reports about 1MDB, which his government had labelled as "fake news", while ignoring the damning parts in the same reports...