KUALA LUMPUR (July 27): Former governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz told the High Court that she was not aware of three letters issued by Saud Abdulaziz Majid AL Saud in relation to donations made to Datuk Seri Najib Razak until a raid at AmBank’s headquarters in July 2015.
According to Zeti, who had been the central bank governor for 16 years, the raid at AmBank’s headquarters in Jalan Raja Chulan, was conducted by the joint task force set up by the then Attorney General Tan Sri Gani Patail to investigate 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Zeti said it was in the raid that the special task force found three letters from Saud Abdulaziz Majid AL Saud that were addressed to Najib.
She claimed that the letters “had never been disclosed” to the central bank by AmBank prior to the raid when asked by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib to look at the three purported donation letters.
The letters were dated Nov 1, 2011, March 1, 2013 and June 1, 2014.
“Neither AmBank nor Najib had forwarded these letters to BNM. In addition, two letters purportedly issued to BNM by then (the) Ambank group MD Ashok Ramamurthy surfaced during the investigation by BNM in July 2015,” she told the court.
It was revealed in court by Zeti that there were four donation letters in total and that in addition to the three letters that were discovered at the raid,
AmBank’s former managing director Cheah Tek Kuang issued a letter to the then deputy governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, according to Zeti. The letter was dated March 22, 2011.
In her testimony, Zeti told the court that on March 22, 2011, Cheah had sent a follow-up letter to Nor Shamsiah, a former governor who stepped down last month. The follow-up letter was attached with a letter of intent, of a promise for a donation from one Saud Abdulaziz Majid AL Saud, to Najib. It was dated Feb 1, 2011.
"This letter attached a letter of intent, of a promise for a donation from one Saud Abdulaziz Majid AL Saud that was dated Feb 1, 2011, and which was addressed to Najib," Zeti told the court, adding that she was only aware of this letter at the material time.
Zeti said she had not seen the letters before the raid, and noting that the fourth letter, dated June 1, 2014, was a bit different as it indicated that the additional sum would be remitted in pound sterling.
Cheah had previously testified that he had informed Zeti that Najib had opened his account in AmBank because he was expecting a US$100 million donation from Saudi Arabia.
He said he had met Zeti to inform her about it shortly after facilitating the opening of Najib’s account. Cheah was explaining how he facilitated the opening of Najib’s current account 211-202-200969-4 on Jan 13, 2011 (known as the “9694” account).
“The purpose of the meeting was to inform her (Zeti) that Najib had opened an account and there were incoming funds of US$100 million from Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He said it was important to inform the governor of the matter as Najib was a politically exposed person who was linked to the nation's interest.
Zeti did not object, he added.
'[However,] she reminded that the opening of the said account [was] to be made following the banking rules and regulations," said Cheah.
Zeti however, testified earlier on Thursday (July 27), that in the meeting with Cheah, the former MD, did not mention any intension that donations would be remitted into this account.
Najib is on trial on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving
RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.
The trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.
The Edge is covering the trial live here.
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