I was told RM42 million moved to Najib’s accounts for CSR programmes, accountant says

Former prime minister Najib Razak has been charged with money laundering and criminal breach of trust in the transfer of RM42 million to his account from SRC International. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Three deposits totalling RM42 million were credited into two private accounts said to belong to Najib Razak for corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, the High Court heard today.

Former Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd senior accounts executive Aishah Ghazali said the money was remitted to the account numbers ending 1880 and 1906 at AmPrivate Banking-1MY.

Although she did not mention Najib’s name, Ambank Raja Chulan branch manager R Uma Devi and Noorhayati Mohd Yunus, the branch manager of Affin Bank at the Curve shopping complex, said the accounts belonged to the former prime minister.

Reading from a witness statement, Aishah who is the 36th witness said the money was remitted between Dec 24, 2014 and Feb 9, 2015 on the instruction of Ihsan Perdana managing director Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman.

She said RM32 million was sent following an email from one Ung Su Ling of Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia.

“I was instructed to remit (RM32 million) from Ihsan Perdana’s account in Affin Bank after Shamsul received an email from Ung,” she said when examined by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamaril.

She said she prepared two remittance forms and went to Affin Bank on Dec 24, 2014 to transfer RM27 million to the account ending with 1880.

She said another RM5 million was remitted to the account ending with 1906 that same day.

She remitted a further RM10 million to account 1880 on Feb 9, 2015.

Aishah said the remittance forms for all three payments were signed by Shamsul and Abdul Aziz Ismail, Ihsan Perdana’s finance director.

She said on both occasions, she went to the Affin Bank branch at the Curve in Mutiara Damasara to submit the remittance forms and obtain the customer’s copies.

She said Shamsul asked her to inquire with Affin Bank as to the identities of the holders of both accounts, but the bank told her it did not have the details.

On Shamsul’s orders, she said, she sent an email to Ung at 5.23pm on Feb 9, 2015, along with a copy of the remittance form stating that RM10 million had been sent.

“All RM42 million from Ihsan Perdana was transferred to the accounts in AmIslamic on the instruction of Shamsul. I understand it was for CSR programmes,” she said.

Najib faces six charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust in the transfer of RM42 million to his account from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former unit of 1MDB.

He is also accused of abusing his power as prime minister by giving government guarantees on SRC International’s RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Inc.

The hearing continues before trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali. - FMT