1MDB TRIAL | The former managing director of AmBank testified that then-premier Najib Abdul Razak wanted to open an account in order to receive US$100 million in donations from Saudi Arabia.
Cheah Tek Kuang said he was told this when he met Najib in January 2011 at the latter’s house in Kenny Hill, Bukit Tunku.
The 39th prosecution witness in the RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial against Najib testified that he (Cheah) had met the accused in order to obtain his signature to open the current account with the numbers ending 694.
“Najib had taken the document (account opening form) to sign the required column. Furthermore, he informed me that there would be a deposit of funds from Saudi Arabia. The large amount of money is US$100 million.
“I do not know the purpose of the money to be received by him, but he himself said that the funds are a donation from the Saudi government for Islamic activity. This I heard myself when it was informed to me orally by Najib,” Cheah, 75, told trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
The former banker said that after five minutes, he had gone back as Najib was quite busy, and that the 694 account was later opened at the bank’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch on Jan 13, 2011.
Under examination-in-chief, Cheah said around a week later after meeting Najib, the then premier’s relationship manager Joanna Yu gave the witness a copy of a letter - purportedly from one Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al-Saud dated Feb 1, 2011 - that allegedly confirmed that the Saudi government would he depositing the US$100 million into the account.
The witness said he was not sure where Yu got the document and did not inquire further from her about it.
Cheah said that later on, he met then Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz about Najib opening the account as well as about the incoming US$100 million deposit.
The witness said the meeting was a secret one between himself and Zeti as it involved the interest of the then premier and a “political exposed person”, and that the then BNM governor said the matter should be conducted in accordance with existing banking laws.
Cheah said after the meeting with Zeti, he had handed over the necessary bank documents to Yu and one Ross Foden - who managed the bank’s operations division.
He said Foden and his team had suggested that Najib’s account be given a special code name due to it being a sensitive account and to prevent the leak of information.
Bank not hiding information
Cheah said he agreed with the suggestion for Najib’s 694 account to be given the code name AmPrivate Banking-MR, and that Zeti was later informed about it via a letter dated Feb 9, 2011.
He said this was to allow BNM to carry out monitoring via the Ringgit Operations Monitoring System (ROMS), adding that he as AmBank’s then managing director had taken steps to inform the central bank and denied that the bank was involved in hiding any information from BNM.
Cheah said after this, he was no longer involved in Najib’s account and on April 1, 2012, his contract with the bank ended and Ashok Ramamurthy took over from him.
Proceedings before Sequerah would resume tomorrow morning.
Cheah had previously testified something similar during the separate RM42 million SRC International corruption trial against Najib.
In 2016, then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of wrongdoing in the 1MDB affair, claiming Najib received US$681 million (RM2.08 billion) in donations from Arab royalty and returned US$620 million.
Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB.
In relation to the four abuse of power charges, the Pekan MP was alleged to have committed the offence at AmIslamic Bank Berhad’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
On the 21 money laundering counts, Najib is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.
In the prosecution’s opening statement at the beginning of the trial on Aug 28, 2019, lead deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram contended that the crime was allegedly committed through four phases spanning from 2011 to 2014. - Mkini
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