Najib’s account received nearly US$670m - bank officer

1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak’s AmBank account received nearly US$20 million (about RM88 million) from Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki Faisal Al Saud in 2011, testified the commercial bank’s Swift (real-time electronic transfer of funds and securities) unit manager.

Wedani Senen told the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon that the former prime minister’s account ending with 694 also received nearly US$650 million (about RM2.8 billion) between 2012 and 2013.

During the RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial against Najib, 29th prosecution witness Wedani said the accused received the total monies of nearly US$670 million in his AmPrivate Banking-MR account.

She said the transfer from Prince Turki in two tranches from Riyad Bank via United States-based JPMorgan Chase Bank took place between Feb 24 and June 14, 2011.

Wedani told trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners transferred nearly US$30 million (about RM130 million) into the 694 account between Oct 30 and Nov 19, 2012.

During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Najwa Bistamam, Wedani testified that US$620 million (about RM2.7 billion) flowed from Tanore Finance Corporation into the AmPrivate Banking-MR account on March 22, 2013.

According to the prosecution previously, Blackstone and Tanore were two British Virgin Islands (BVI) entities set up by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho to facilitate the embezzlement of funds from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Wedani explained that 12 transactions of monies going into Najib's two accounts - the 694 one as well as his AmPrivate Banking-1MY account ending with 880 - were recorded between 2011 and 2014 via the international Swift remittance system.

Hearing before Sequerah will resume on Monday (June 20) next week, with the witness expected to resume her testimony regarding the rest of the transactions.

RM2.28b 1MDB trial

Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB’s funds.

The Pekan MP was alleged to have committed the four counts of corruption at AmIslamic Bank Berhad’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.

In regard to the 21 money laundering charges, Najib is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.

The prosecution contended that the wrongdoing at 1MDB was carried out by Low with the blessing of Najib.

The accused’s defence team however claimed he had no knowledge of the crime perpetrated at 1MDB and that the embezzlement was solely masterminded by Low and other members of the fund’s management. - Mkini