Najib’s SRC trial: Umno division chief on why cheque was issued to him personally instead of division

KUALA LUMPUR: An RM50,000 cheque to the Umno Padang Serai division was made directly to the division chief Datuk Asmadi Abu Talib and not the party's division bank account.

Asmadi said the amount was not recognised in the division's account as they were afraid of “problems” which could have surfaced, but he claimed the division leadership was “aware of the money”.

Asmadi said this when cross-examined by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his corruption trial.

This came after AmBank cheque processing centre senior manager Badrul Hisham Mohamadn told the High Court here last week that cheques worth more than RM25mil were issued by accounts suspected to be linked to Najib and SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Asmadi, who was one of the recipients of these cheques, said the money was used to fund events organised by the division and was allocated to requests made by schools and NGOs.


Pressed on later by the prosecution on what he meant by “problems”, Asmadi said this was the need to have an auditor audit the accounts and the need to present the accounts during their annual general meeting (AGM).

Prosecution: If there is a division bank account, why did Najib write the cheque to you personally?

Asmadi: If deposited into the Umno account, this would involve the AGM and others. If the money comes into my own bank account, it goes directly to the division's leadership.

On July 4 last year, Najib claimed trial to a charge of abuse of power and three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) linked to the 1MDB scandal.

He allegedly misappropriated RM42mil in funds belonging to SRC International.

On Aug 8, 2018, he appeared in court again for the second time and was charged with three counts of money laundering involving the same RM42mil.- Star