Najib never issued cheques to himself, bank manager tells court

 

Branch manager R Uma Devi said former prime minister Najib Razak did not withdraw any cash from his AmBank accounts.

KUALA LUMPUR: A bank officer told the High Court hearing Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial that the former prime minister did not make any cash withdrawal from his AmBank accounts.

AmBank’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch manager R Uma Devi confirmed this during cross-examination by defence counsel Shafee Abdullah.

“Do you agree that for someone like him, cash would be more convenient since it is typical for Malaysians to use cash when spending?” Shafee asked.

In response, Uma Devi said it was up to the account holder whether to use cheques or withdraw cash.

She also confirmed that all cheques issued by Najib from his accounts were made out in favour of organisations and political parties.

Uma Devi added that the former prime minister had not issued cheques from his AmBank accounts to himself.

The hearing continues before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Thursday when former AmBank managing director Cheah Tek Kuang will continue his testimony.

Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014. - FMT