.jpg "AmBank senior manager Badrul Hisham Mohamad arrives at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex April 18, 2019. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isann")
KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s AmIslamic Bank cheques made out to Umno, Sabah party Upko and his lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun’s law firm emerged today in his trial over RM42 million of a former 1MDB unit’s funds.
In day five of Najib’s trial, AmIslamic Bank cheque processing centre senior manager Badrul Hisham Mohamad confirmed and verified 17 cheques had been issued in 2014 and 2015 by account holders at AmBank and that had all been deposited.
Although the account holders were not named in court, previous court documents show that two of these were registered to Najib when he was still the prime minister, Umno president, and Barisan Nasional chairman.
Under Najib’s AmIslamic Bank account number 202-201190-6, a cheque of RM1 million was issued to Badan Perhubungan Umno Negeri Pulau Pinang on February 26, 2015, while a RM300,000 cheque was issued to Umno Bahagian Johor Bahru on February 26, 2015.
Under this same account, a RM1 million cheque was issued on February 13, 2015, to Upko that had been a BN party.
Under a separate Najib account 202-201189-8, a cheque for RM3.5 million was issued on January 21, 2015, to the law firm of Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak.
These two accounts under Najib's name were mentioned in his money-laundering cases.
The 17 cheques that were raised in court today are:
Under 202-201190-6 (Najib's account)
1. RM240,000 cheque to Vital Spire Sdn Bhd dated January 30, 2015
2. RM2.5 million cheque to Zulqarnain & Co, dated February 2, 2015
3. RM300,000 cheque issued to Centre for Strategic Engagement Sdn Bhd, dated February 8, 2015
4. RM238,914 cheque issued to Lim Soon Peng, dated February 12, 2015
5. RM100,000 cheque to ABS Trend Master Sdn Bhd, dated February 12, 2015
6. RM1 million cheque to Upko, dated February 13, 2015
7. RM400,000 cheque to Trustees of Rumah Penyayang Tun Abdul Razak, dated February 12, 2015
8. RM1 million cheque to Solar Shine Sdn Bhd, dated February 17, 2015
9. RM50,000 cheque to Asmadi Abu Talib, dated February 12, 2015
10. RM13,800 cheque to Manisah Othman, dated February 12, 2015
11. RM56,500 cheque to Moz (M) Sdn Bhd, dated February 24, 2015
12. RM1 million cheque to Badan Perhubungan Umno Negeri Pulau Pinang, dated February 26, 2015
13. RM77,300 cheque to Syadilah Enterprise, dated February 24, 2015
14. RM300,000 cheque to Umno Bahagian Johor Bahru, dated February 26, 2015
Under 202-201189-8 (another Najib account)
15. RM3.5 million cheque to Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak, dated January 22, 2015
Under SRC International's account (211-202-200973-6)
16. RM20 million cheque with two signatories to Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, dated December 12, 2014
Company account 202-1160010-0 of an unnamed company
17. RM103,361.17 cashier order with two signatories to Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, dated March 9, 2015
The total amount of the 15 cheques issued under Najib's name came up to RM10,776,514.
At the start of Najib's trial, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas had said the prosecution would seek to establish that RM42 million of SRC International funds passed through the accounts of the company's corporate social responsibility partner Ihsan Perdana and SRC International's subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd before reaching Najib's AmBank accounts.
Najib was previously charged on August 8, 2018 with money-laundering over his alleged receiving of a total of RM42 million of proceeds from unlawful activities.
* Editor’s note: Malay Mail inaccurately reported that Cheque No 13 was for RM7,300; the accurate amount is RM77,300 and has since been corrected.
** Editor’s note: Malay Mail inaccurately referred to Najib Razak’s cheques as AmBank cheques. They are from AmIslamic Bank. The error has been corrected.
