Najib himself gave Shahrir RM1mil cheque, says MACC officer

 

Shahrir Samad was charged with money laundering by not stating his real income in the income tax return form. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer told the High Court here that her investigation revealed that Najib Razak himself gave the cheque for RM1 million to Shahrir Samad in 2013.

MACC’s Nurzahidah Yacop, 35, said the former prime minister was also the one who wrote and signed his AmIslamic Bank cheque before giving it to Shahrir when they were at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya on Nov 27, 2013.

Nurzahidah said the following day, there was a deposit of RM1 million in Shahrir’s Public Bank account and several withdrawals were made from that account, involving RM997,285, between Dec 2, 2013, and March 31, 2014.

“Of the total withdrawals, RM543,800 was used to implement the Puri Langkasuka Housing Rehabilitation (Seri Anugerah) Project in Larkin, Johor Bahru, and RM10,000 was for the Taman Kebun Teh Umno branch.

“Apart from that, a total of RM443,485 was believed to have been withdrawn for his (Shahrir’s) personal use, including RM200,000 transferred into Public Bank’s fixed deposit accounts belonging to his wife, Shahrizan Abdullah, and daughter Marisa Diyana, RM115,000 into Shahrir’s fixed deposit account at Maybank and another RM118,485 into Sutera Auto Sdn Bhd’s account,” she said.

Nurzahidah said this when reading her witness statement at the trial of the former Johor Bahru MP, who was charged with failing to declare RM1 million, which he received from Najib to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

On Aug 8, the 7th prosecution witness, Sutera Auto Sdn Bhd account executive Rozana Khalid told the court that Shahrir had bought a Honda Civic Hybrid car, worth RM118,485 by paying with one cheque on Dec 21, 2013.

Nurzahidah said the investigation found that Shahrir had never declared receiving the funds even if it was deemed as his income.

She said Shahrir’s taxation records for the years 2013 to 2018 showed no declarations of income exceeding RM1 million in Form BE.

Shahrir, 72, a former Felda chairman, was charged with money laundering by not stating his real income in the income tax return form for assessment year 2013, which is a violation of Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967, on the RM1 million, believed to be from unlawful activities, that he received from Najib through a cheque.

He was charged with committing the offence at IRB, Duta branch, Government Office Complex, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, here on April 25, 2014.

The charge, framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, provides a maximum fine of RM5 million, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, if found guilty.

The trial, before justice Jamil Hussin, continues tomorrow. - FMT