KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak admitted that RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd went into his personal bank accounts, it was revealed in the High Court today.
Other interesting points revealed included how Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low practically managed Najib’s bank accounts and was directly involved in the billions of ringgit which came in and was later transferred out.
It was also highlighted how Jho Low, who referred to himself as Fei Lor (Cantonese for fat boy) had a propensity to link money with food such as satay, pies and chips.
He used satay to refer to the Ringgit, pies for American dollars and chips for British pounds.
As Jho Low’s role in Najib’s accounts began to unravel, the latter’s former relationship manager at Ambank, Joanna Yu Ging Ping, had everyone in stitches when she was asked to elaborate on Jho Low calling Najib the big boss.
She was asked to refer to her Blackberry messenger chat with Jho Low where he informs her that the big boss had contacted him about some fund transfers.
Najib’s lawyer, Harvinderjit Singh, asked Yu who the big boss was and the former banker replied that she assumed it was the account holder.
However, Harvinderjit reminded her that the account holder was previously referred to as MNR (Mohd Najib Razak) in the chats.
Yu then responded by saying: “I am not sure who was the bigger boss.”
Najib, who was seated in the dock, joined the others in laughter upon hearing her answer.
The court also heard how Jho Low controlled Najib’s bank accounts to the extent that Nik Faizal Ariff Kamil, who was the person mandated by Najib to manage his accounts, was reduced to being a nobody.
Yu said Nik Faisal, who was former SRC International chief executive officer (CEO), had messaged her that he couldn’t do much when it came to Najib’s accounts as he was only a ciku (small fry).
In the course of her cross-examination, Yu also described how Jho Low used bizarre terms when referring to different currencies.
An example included how he referred to US$1 million as one American pie and RM1 million as one satay while the British pound was called chips.
Earlier, 55th prosecution witness, lawyer Ranjit Singh, testified how Najib had admitted in a defamation suit against former MCA president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, that RM42 million which was banked into his personal bank accounts was from SRC International.
He said Najib , who was also former Finance Minister, made the admission in a sworn affidavit in 2016.
However, Najib claimed he had no knowledge that the money was channelled into his accounts through two intermediaries, namely Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd (GMSB) and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd (IPSB).
Najib had then sued Dr Ling for defamation after the former Transport Minister was reported to have called him a thief who pocketed other people’s money.
He also said that Najib was not fit to lead the country after what he had done.
The suit was however settled when Najib decided to drop his demands against Dr Ling following Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the 14th General Election (GE14).
He was subsequently ordered to pay RM25,000 in costs to Dr Ling.
Najib’s lawyer Hafarizam Harun was quoted as saying that his client withdrew the defamation suit as Najib needed to focus on other pressing matters.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
Najib, 66, is facing six charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
He is accused of transferring RM42 million into his accounts from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He is also accused of abusing his power as then prime minister and finance minister by giving government guarantees on SRC International’s RM4 billion loan from the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).
The Pekan member of parliament is accused of committing the offences at the AmIslamic Bank Bhd, Jalan Raja Chulan, and the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between Aug 17, 2011, and Feb 10, 2015.
He faces a maximum 20 years’ jail and fine for the offences, if convicted.
– NST
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