Zahid trial: Witness says cash didn't come from Yayasan Al-Bukhary

 

The cash received by money changer Omar Ali Abdullah linked to the money laundering case against Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did not come from Yayasan Al-Bukhary, claimed a witness at the trial today. 

MACC officer Mohd Amirudin Nordin said Yayasan Al-Bukhary had indeed made contributions to Yayasan Akalbudi in the past.

However, he said those contributions were made by cheque, not in cash.

He also opined that if anyone wanted to contribute to Yayasan Akalbudi, they could do so directly without going through a trustee.

He said this during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffery Ong in the corruption, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust trial against the former deputy prime minister.

Harris: The (defendant) lawyer proposed to you that Omar in his statement said the cash received were contributions from Yayasan Al-Bukhary. Is there anything you’d like to explain about that proposal?

Amirudin: I disagree with the proposal because Yayasan Al-Bukhary did contribute to Yayasan Akalbudi to the tune of RM5 million. But that was made by cheque.

Zahid is the founder and owner of Yayasan Akalbudi, and is the sole signatory for the foundation.

For the record, Omar is the 81st witness at the trial and had given testimony in July last year. He owns Marhaba Enterprise Sdn Bhd that operates a foreign currency exchange service at Fahrenheit88, Kuala Lumpur.

Different person every time

Amirudin is the MACC investigator tasked with probing Zahid's money laundering case, including cheques from various banks that were believed to have been used in the alleged crime which were all credited to a Lewis & Co account.

During his examination-in-chief - also conducted by Harris - Amirudin said he had inspected copies of the cheques he received during the investigation and tracked down those who had issued it.

He said he classified all the cheques involved in the money laundering allegations against Zahid into several categories, including a category for "contributions" and a category for "lobbying for projects".

During cross-examination by the defendant's lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh, Amirudin disagreed that the "contribution" cheques for Lewis & Co were truly a form of contribution.

The matter was later explained during re-examination by Harris.

“I disagree because if they want to make a contribution, it can be done directly to the Yayasan Akalbudi account and would not need Lewis & Co as a trustee,” he said.

In his witness statement last year, Omar testified that Zahid asked him to handle cash intended for the Yayasan Akalbudi account before asking him to deposit it in the Lewis & Co’s account.

According to Omar, Zahid told him that the cash was contributed by Yayasan Al-Bukhary and he will be contacted by the contributor to be given the money.

Omar said he did not recognise the men who contacted him, and each transaction involved a different man who wore jewellery.

He added that if any of his friends wanted cash or to make a foreign currency exchange, he would ask them to provide a cheque in exchange for the money.

The cheques are then paid to Lewis & Co.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution contended that Lewis & Co was a trustee acting on Yayasan Akalbudi’s behalf, but both Lewis & Co partners denied this during their appearance at the trial in August last year.

'Zahid has interest on all certificates of deposit'

According to Amirudin, his investigation uncovered 25 certificates of fixed deposit that were still active at Lewis & Co. These were purchased by the law firm through proper procedures.

However, he said Zahid has interest on all those certificates.

He added that whilst recording his statement, Lewis & Co partner B Muralidharan told investigators he received instructions from Zahid to convert all cheques into fixed deposits.

Yesterday, Amirudin as the trial’s 96th witness took three hours to verify 406 documents related to the money laundering allegations against Zahid.

This included cheques, copies of cheques, demand draft, letters, receipts, forms, deposit slips, and two pink folders from Lewis & Co.

One folder was labelled “Yayasan Al-Falah”, while the other was labelled “Client: Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi”.

Muralidharan, who was the trial’s 87th witness, had testified that it was Zahid who instructed the opening of a customer account and a file for Yayasan Al-Falah at the firm, not the foundation itself.

Yayasan Al-Falah is chaired by Zahid’s younger brother Mohamad Nasaee Ahmad Tarmizi.

Zahid is facing 47 charges in relation to Yayasan Akalbudi – 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption, and 27 for money laundering.

For the money laundering charges, he was accused of receiving tens of millions of ringgit in cheques from various parties through Lewis & Co, a large portion of which were kept as fixed deposit under the firm’s name.

The trial entered its 50th day today, and will resume before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah tomorrow. - Mkini