SRC board kept in the dark by Nik Faisal, says Ismee Ismail

NAJIB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak's SRC International corruption trial today heard how the company's board of directors was allegedly kept in the dark over several key matters that concerned its financial management in 2011.

According to testimony by Ismee Ismail (above), SRC International's former chairperson, the board members had not known of the existence of a key AmIslamic Bank account ending with the numbers 736 nor were they informed of it by their then CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.

He said Nik Faisal also failed to inform them about his communication with Najib, the Finance Ministry and Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) over SRC International's intention to secure a RM3.95 billion loan from KWAP.

This communication was allegedly contained in a letter from SRC International to then prime minister and finance minister Najib, dated June 3, 2011.

This, Ismee testified, included the alleged hiding of the fact that KWAP had offered the option for its loan to be guaranteed by 1MDB as a corporate guarantor.

Ismee agreed to a suggestion by defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh that Nik Faisal and another signatory for the "736" account - Sharul Azral Ibrahim Halmi - were "not being true" to the SRC board.

Ismee also agreed with the lawyer that the board was not informed that the drawdown of the RM2 billion loan from KWAP was funnelled into the "736" account on Aug 29, 2011.

Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil

Previously in the trial, Jalan Raja Chulan Ambank branch manager R Uma Devi testified that RM2 billion flowed in four separate tranches of RM500 million each into the 736 account on Aug 29, 2011.

Harvinderjit: Three days after the August 2011 meeting with SRC (International's board), Nik Faisal signed a letter for KWAP to drawdown the facility of RM2 billion. The account to which drawdown is done is to the 736 account.

Ismee: Yes.

Harvinderjit: We are moving to more serious transgression (here). The board was never told about the drawdown move of RM2 billion to an account it was not even aware of.

Ismee: It appears so.

Ismee also agreed with Harvinderjit's assertion that the "736" account was set up in January 2011 when the company only consisted of two directors, Nik Faisal and another identified as Vincent Beng Huat Koh.

SRC International formed its board of directors in August 2011 with Ismee on it.

The trial resumes tomorrow before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali. - Mkini