Instead, the former prime minister told his 1MDB trial, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir had in the past confirmed the donations and has never retracted those remarks until now.

“Unfounded claims involving royal families are typically met with formal denials to protect the integrity of the monarchy.

“The fact that no such denial has been issued reinforces the credibility of my belief that the funds were indeed a donation,” he said.

Najib also told the High Court he met King Salman, Abdullah’s son, during the latter’s visit here in 2017.

“If he was displeased with me, why would he come to KL?

“To get a king to visit KL is a huge acknowledgment of the strong ties (between the two countries),” he said.

He said King Salman also brought him to visit the kaaba and Prophet Muhammad’s tomb.

I was not charged in US over 1MDB’

Najib said he was never charged in the US for 1MDB offences. He said the US government blocked his bid to access documents used in former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng’s case.

He said the US government was seeking to exert its influence to “shape public perception and political outcomes in Malaysia”.

Najib said a leaked 2016 document had set out a strategy to influence public opinion and destabilise the Barisan Nasional government that was in power at the time.

He also said the Department of Justice’s heavily publicised civil forfeiture case had created a false narrative to prejudice public opinion and pre-judge his culpability.

“It is evident that the DoJ’s behaviour becomes particularly aggressive when the individuals involved are politicians or closely linked to political figures,” he said.

‘I forgive my accusers’

Najib named the 10 individuals who testified against him in the trial as his “accusers”.

They were:

• former 1MDB chairman Bakke Salleh;
• former CEOs Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Hazem Abdul Rahman;
• former chief financial officer Azmi Tahir;
• former legal counsel Loo Ai Swan;
• former director Ismee Ismail;
• former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz;
• former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin;
• former Treasury officer Siti Zauyah Mohd Desa; and
• former second finance minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

He claimed that these witnesses had lied to implicate him in the scandal and save themselves from wrongdoings.

“I will not seek revenge against them because this is not my attitude,” he said.

Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of power abuse and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds in his bank account.

The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Jan 6.