The former prime minister said he had no need for “such a large sum of money” in his account after May 5, 2013.

“(Having the large sum) would have led to various interpretations,” Najib said when questioned by the prosecution about returning the funds to Singapore firm, Tanore Finance Corporation.

He said that from March 21 to April 10 that year, he had received US$681 million from Tanore which he believed was controlled by the Saudi royal family.

The funds were deposited in his account ending with 694.

Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar questioned Najib on whether he had checked to confirm Tanore’s ownership and links to the royal family.

“You also received a letter from ‘Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saud’ promising to give you US$800 million (in 2013) but then you only received US$620 million,” Kamal added.

In response, Najib told the court he was “confident” the US$620 million was related to Saud’s 2013 letter.

“I did not check (Tanore’s ownership) because I was confident with the monitoring by BNM (Bank Negara Malaysia),” he said.

The court also heard that Najib closed the 694 account a few months after returning the US$620 million to Tanore.

He affirmed that another account ending with 880 was opened, and that the Saudi royal family continued to give him financial assistance.

He said he received over £10 million in 2014 from two firms: Blackrock Commodities (Global) Ltd and Vista Equity International Partners Ltd.

“I assumed that the (£10 million) was a genuine donation,” Najib added.

Kamal: How did the royal family or ‘Saud’ know you had a new account (880) for them to deposit the funds?

Najib: They might have found out from certain sources.

The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited in his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.