Businessperson G Gnanaraja was identified as a "middleman" for allegedly delivering bribes to former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng based on his supposed closeness with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) senior executive director Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli testified that he was acting on Lim's alleged instructions to find a middleman.
He said he recommended Gnanaraja (above) who he was introduced to by Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz as a "close associate" of Najib.
"Based on such an introduction from my good friend Dato Seri Nazri, there was no reason for me to not believe Gnanaraja's position with the (former) prime minister.
"Aside from helping me to improve my relations with the prime minister so that I will not be disturbed by the (federal) BN government and my project can be carried out peacefully, I also wished to foster closer ties between Lim and the PM to ensure no more disruptions to my project in Penang," Zarul testified.
"Therefore I acted to involve Gnanaraja in giving the cash to Lim," he said.
After a series of self-deliveries from 2013 to 2016, Zarul said Lim instructed him to use a middleman for future payments in case of monitoring by the MACC, and so he recommended Gnanaraja.
Zarul said he went on to contact Gnanaraja sometime between May and August 2017 to discuss the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle, as well as to propose his role as the middleman to make payments to Lim.
"This is because at that time I was already afraid to hold and keep large amounts of cash, as I was already under MACC surveillance," he said.
'Chocolate for Big Boss'
Zarul said on Aug 17, 2017, he instructed for RM2 million in cash to be given to Lim via Gnanaraja.
"I told Gnanaraja via WhatsApp I want to hand over 'chocolate' to him to be given to 'Bigboss'... Chocolate here means cash," he said.
Zarul said he placed the money in two dark-coloured sports bags, each containing RM1 million cash, in Gnanaraja's Bentley car during a brief handover at Eastin Hotel, Petaling Jaya, on Aug 18.
He testified that two days later, he picked up Gnanaraja with one of the sports bags, and together they picked up Lim at Wentworth Hotel in Kuala Lumpur to drop him off at Publika for an event.
"As far as I know Gnanaraja took a selfie together with Lim in my car.
"Upon arrival in Publika, Lim thanked me and pat my shoulder in a gesture of thanks.
"Through his actions, I was sure it was because he had taken the bag with the RM1 million cash and wanted to thank me," he said.
Zarul further revealed the second bag was handed to Lim by Gnanaraja when he took the Bagan MP to the latter's house past midnight on Aug 28.
Zarul said he saw Lim take out the bag when he dropped off the Air Putih assemblyperson at The Gardens Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, after returning from Gnanaraja's house.
Gnanaraja was previously charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court on April 3, 2019, for allegedly deceiving Zarul on three occasions in 2017 into believing he has political connections that could stop the MACC investigation against him.
The trial resumes on Monday (June 27) with the cross-examination by lead defence counsel Gobind Singh Deo.
Corruption charges
The ongoing trial concerns graft charges against Lim.
One charge, framed under Section 16(A)(a) and Section 23 of the MACC Act, accuses him of using his position as then Penang chief minister for the gratification of RM3.3 million as inducement for helping a company belonging to Zarul to secure the island state's RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project.
The offence was allegedly perpetrated at the Penang Chief Minister's Office, 28th Floor at Komtar in George Town, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.
Under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The second charge, also under Section 16(A)(a), states that Lim, in his capacity as the Penang chief minister then, solicited from Zarul bribes amounting to 10 percent of the profits to be earned by the company as gratification for helping the company secure the project.
The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur, between 12.30am and 2am in March 2011.
The charge, framed under Section 16 of the MACC Act, provides for imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin led the prosecution, while Lim’s defence team was headed by lawyer Gobind Singh Deo. - Mkini
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