He stated that the funds were transferred to Riza following a decision by Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour, as a loan from Aabar Investments.
: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court today that a phone call he made to the then-crown prince of the United Arab Emirates was intended to document a loan secured by his filmmaker stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, from Aabar Investments PJS.
“He knew it was straightforward clean money given by Aabar and as a result of that, he makes movies. The movies make money,“ said Najib during a re-examination by his counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, at his trial for the alleged misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.
Riza, who co-founded Red Granite Pictures with producer Joey McFarland in 2010 has produced several Hollywood movies including the Academy Award-winning, The Wolf of Wall Street. “When I am on holiday, there is no need for Wisma Putra to get involved. I was there with my family. When you are relaxing, you do not want government officials to be there with you.
“It was not a formal meeting to begin with. I don’t think Prince Turki would have been pleased if he saw an official representing the government on the yacht.
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