Former SRC International Sdn Bhd CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil may have made misrepresentations to the firm’s board of directors, an ex-director testified.
Suboh Md Yassin however told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the board did not try to meet directly with then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak about it due to “certain protocols”.
The former SRC director was replying to Najib’s counsel Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee during this afternoon’s hearing of the company’s US$1.18 billion lawsuit against the incarcerated Najib, who also used to be its advisor emeritus.
Suboh agreed with Farhan that it was “entirely possible” that Nik Faisal - who is at large and sought by authorities to assist in a related criminal investigation - may have made misrepresentations to the SRC board.
Farhan: Nik Faisal was caught in a lie, did this not trigger the board to engage more directly with the first defendant (Najib) to verify instructions that purportedly came to them?
Suboh: There are certain protocols to observe, the first defendant has certain duties, that was the situation we were in.
Farhan: So it was dealt with internally then?
Suboh: Yes.
Farhan: Even so, should the board have tried contacting the first defendant regardless?
Suboh: In hindsight, yes.
However, Suboh did not elaborate on what he meant by “certain protocols”.
Proxy for Najib
The ex-SRC director also conceded that his dealings with Nik Faisal showed that the latter had been known to hide certain issues from the board.
Suboh was referring to the issue of SRC failing to file its financial statements for the year ending 2013.
Yesterday, Suboh testified that Nik Faisal was a proxy of Najib who was referred to as “boss” and “pihak atas” (superior) and that the board had no direct contact with the former finance minister.
Najib appointed Suboh as SRC director on Aug 1, 2011, and the appointment lasted until March 4, 2019.
In this civil suit presided over by judge Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, Suboh is testifying on behalf of plaintiff SRC against defendant Najib.
Suboh is also giving oral evidence in the capacity of a third party brought into the lawsuit by Najib to fully or partly reimburse the ex-premier in the event that SRC wins the court action.
A separate criminal trial
He was also a prosecution witness in a separate criminal trial against Najib linked to RM42 million of SRC’s funds, which led to the ex-premier’s conviction. Najib is serving a six-year jail sentence and was fined RM50 million.
Under its new management, SRC filed the lawsuit in May 2021, alleging that Najib, as adviser emeritus of the plaintiff, had committed a breach of trust and abuse of power, and personally benefited from the company’s funds, as well as misappropriated billions of ringgit.
SRC is also seeking a court declaration that the defendant is responsible for its losses due to a purported breach of duties and trust, and for the ex-premier to repay RM42 million.
The plaintiff is also seeking a court order for Najib to be made accountable for the former’s US$1.18 billion loss, as well as repay US$120 million of funds that allegedly flowed into the former finance minister’s bank account.
The civil action against Najib is linked to the alleged misappropriation of part of RM4 billion - RM3.6 billion or US$1.18 billion in foreign exchange rates between 2011 and 2012 - in loans that the company received from Retirement Fund Incorporated (Kwap) between 2011 and 2012.
Kwap is a statutory body under the Finance Ministry. - Mkini
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