Wednesday, July 31, 2019

NAJIB TRIAL - Day 46: Yu used RM55,000 of own money to regularise Najib's account



The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters its 46th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.

Summary of Najib’s SRC RM42 million case

Najib is facing 7 charges relating to RM42m involving SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Yu used RM55,000 of own money to regularise Najib's account
  • Court hears of scramble to stop RM5m cheque to Umno from bouncing
  • Jho Low is 'boss' to Permai Binaraya director, witness says
  • 'AmBank didn't flag foreign currency flowing into Najib's account'
  • Cross-examination continues with sterling in Najib's account

Court breaks for lunch
1pm - Proceedings break for lunch and are expected to resume at 2pm.
The quicker lunch break is necessitated by Najib Abdul Razak's lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo) and co-counsel Harvinderjit Singh having to attend a separate hearing around 3pm.
This afternoon has been fixed for a decision on Attorney-General Tommy Thomas' application to cite Shafee for contempt in relation to a media statement on Najib's court case. 

Yu used RM55,000 of own money to regularise Najib's account
12.35pm - Former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu admits that she may have used RM55,000 of her own money to regularise former premier Najib Abdul Razak's bank account in 2014.
This happened on Sept 29 that year, when Najib's account ending 906 was overdrawn by RM55,000, due to an RM80,000 cheque issued without sufficient balance.
According to BlackBerry Messenger chats with one Josie, the secretary of Low Taek Jho, Yu (photo) contacted the 1MDB-linked businessperson to tell him about the need for cash to be deposited in Najib's AmBank account.
Low then instructed Yu to get Kee Kok Thiam to provide the funds, but was told that he was unavailable as he was away in Malacca.
Kee had previously been identified as Low's associate, and was tasked with making cash deposits into Najib's accounts. He is the subject of a civil forfeiture suit in Malaysia.
Low then told Yu to get hold of Josie, after which she learned that the secretary was also away, and could only deposit the funds the following day.
"I may need to help him fund first," Yu told Josie. Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh asks Yu to confirm this.
Harvinderjit: The RM55,000 did not come from Kee or Josie?
Yu: I can't remember.
Harvinderjit: Again I suggest, it came from you. And Josie paid you back the next day?
Yu: It may have been (the case).
The witness then confirms the veracity of another chat exchange between her and Josie, which took place the next day.
In the chat, Yu thanks Josie for repaying her the sum.

Court hears of scramble to stop RM5m cheque to Umno from bouncing
11am - Details of a series of 2014 chats between former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu, fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, and former Putra Perdana group CEO Jerome Lee are read out in court.
The chats, read by defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh and confirmed by Yu, revolve around a scramble to ensure enough funds in Najib Abdul Razak's account to stop his RM5 million cheque to Umno from bouncing.
The chat logs reveal that Yu contacted Low on the morning of Sept 10, 2014, to tell him that RM3.8 million needed to be wired into Najib's AmBank account ending in 906 by 3pm that day.
If he failed to do so, she said, the cheque for RM5 million would have to be returned. Low then told Yu to contact Lee to transfer funds into the account. 
Yu then communicated with Lee until a sum of RM5 million was transferred from Putra Perdana Construction's Allianz Bank account into Najib's account.
The court also hears that Low instructed Yu to inform Lee that the transfer of funds should not be made from Putra Perdana's AmBank account.

Jho Low is 'boss' to Permai Binaraya director, witness says
10.45am - Former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu uses the word 'boss' to describe Low Taek Jho (photo), implying that the fugitive businessperson was a superior to Permai Binaraya director Jerome Lee.
Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh is going through the chat logs of a conversation between Yu and Lee in the middle of 2014.
Harvinderjit: You used (the term) 'boss' for Low, implying that Low is in a superior position to Lee, (who) took instructions from Low?
Yu: Yes.
Yu had communicated with Lee over the transfer of RM27 million from Permai Binaraya's Maybank account to then-premier Najib Abdul Razak's AmBank account ending 880 sometime in July 2014.

'AmBank didn't flag foreign currency flowing into Najib's account'
10.16am - Former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu says that multiple foreign remittances into the accounts of Najib Abdul Razak in 2014 were not brought to Bank Negara's attention.
The witness says this to defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh during cross-examination.
Harvinderjit: These foreign remittances in 2014, no issue was raised with Bank Negara based on documents provided by (Najib's account mandate holder) Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and (fugitive businessperson) Low Taek Jho?
Yu: None were raised by the (AmBank) Remittance Department.
Earlier, Harvinderjit questioned Yu over the millions in foreign currency flowing into Najib's AmBank account ending 880 throughout the year.

Cross-examination continues with sterling in Najib's account
9.45am - Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh continues his cross-examination by grilling former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu, who was in charge of accused Najib Abdul Razak's accounts, on her chats with 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho in 2014.
Harvinderjit (photo) delves into a series of transfers in sterling that flowed into Najib's AmBank account ending in 880 the same year.
The lawyer seems to be trying to establish that Low played a key role in these transactions. 
He suggests to Yu that the funds were "gifts," and asks her which address she directed emails to former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, the mandate holder of Najib's accounts.

Najib enters the dock
9.13am - Najib enters the dock as proceedings begin.
Also seen in court are deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram and other members of the prosecution.
9.03am - The accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the court and is seen conferring with his defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, as they await the beginning of proceedings.

Former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu can look forward to at least another day and a half's worth of cross-examination as former premier Najib Abdul Razak's RM42 million SRC International trial enters its 46th day.
Defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh said as much on Monday before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali. 
The defence today is expected to rely on the voluminous chat logs extracted from Yu, the 54th prosecution witness.
More revelations may still emerge from these logs, such as her dealings with 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho in relation to Najib's accounts with AmBank.
On Monday, Yu testified that Low had a propensity of using terms like "American pie" and "satay" as euphemisms for massive transactions in US dollars and ringgit involving the accounts of the accused.
 - Mkini

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