FORMER prime minister Najib Razak is being selective in revealing facts about money he received that was allegedly stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), say reporters at the Wall Street Journal who broke the news about the scandal.

Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, who’ve covered the story extensively, said Najib was saying nothing new with his Facebook post last night in which he posted documents on money received from the Saudi government in 2011.

“We have always reported that (Najib received millions from Saudi Arabia in 2011). It has nothing to do with the US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) in 2013 that came from 1MDB, not to mention tens of millions more from the fund,” Wright tweeted in response to Najib’s Facebook post.

“Najib says it’s taken a while for him to get these documents on Saudi donations. We’ve had them for years, and there’s nothing new in them. And, they don’t explain why he received US681 million in 1MDB cash.”

In his post, Najib said he would explain the US681 million he received as a donation in either a press conference or another statement.

But Hope tweeted that the documents Najib posted were “partly misleading” and were also based on “alleged fraud”, adding that the letter posted was in doubt of being a genuine document.

The WSJ journalists reminded Najib, with a link to an article published in September 2016, that he had yet to account for the bulk of money received from 1MDB.

In all, investigations show that US$1 billion, out of US$3.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB, ended up in Najib’s bank accounts, according to a US Department of Justice (DOJ) filing.

The 2016 article traced the complex web of transactions between private banks, offshore companies and funds in different countries to show how the US$1 billion ended up with Najib between 2011 and 2015.

It also outlined the different ventures and borrowings 1MDB undertook, where funds from these loans and bonds were eventually channeled through various intermediaries before arriving in Najib’s accounts.

These included the venture with Saudi oil company PetroSaudi International Ltd, bonds raised by Goldman Sachs for 1MDB for its power plants purchase and a real estate joint venture with Abu Dhabi.

Najib has so far not addressed allegations that he received funds resulting from these ventures but has instead focused on the Saudi donation of RM2.6 billion, most of which he previously said he had returned.

However, it is not the donation that Najib has been charged for, but the RM42 million received from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd in tranches between December 2014 and February 2015, while he was prime minister.

He is facing three charges of money-laundering, three counts of criminal breach of trust and one for abusing his position in the government’s decision to guarantee a RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC.

Trial has been set for 43 days over February and March next year. – September 11, 2018.