KUALA LUMPUR (March 10): A total RM19.3 million in cash cheques were deposited into a CIMB Bank account belonging to political party Bersatu between August 2021 and November 2022, a bank branch manager testified in court on Tuesday.
CIMB KL Sentral bank branch manager Lee Hui Nee, who was testifying as the second prosecution witness in the Jana Wibawa corruption trial involving former prime minister and Bersatu chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, was testifying and verifying 28 cheques which had entered the account during the aforementioned timeframe.
Upon questioning from deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Lee testified on the veracity, time, date and amounts deposited into this particular Bersatu bank account.
She said that from August 2021, there had been a consistent flow of funds into the party’s account, beginning with RM4 million deposited via two cheques in August 2021, followed by another RM3 million through two cheques the following month.
By the end of 2021, the volume of transactions increased, with six cheques totalling RM4 million being deposited. In February 2022, a single cheque for RM1 million was again deposited. Activity resumed later that year in October, with four cheques amounting to RM800,000.
The final and most significant surge occurred in November 2022, where a total of 13 cheques amounting to RM6.5 million were processed, bringing the grand total for the period to RM19.3 million.
The link between the RM19.3 million and Muhyiddin was that he was an authorised signatory for Bersatu’s bank account, which granted him legal control over its funds, as well as he being the prime minister at the time.
Lee testified that the said funds came from several sources, including Mamfor Sdn Bhd, an individual identified as Azman Yusoff, and banker’s cheques where the senders’ names were not stated.
She confirmed that the authorised signatories were Muhyiddin, then-Bersatu deputy presidents Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu and Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, and then-Bersatu treasurer general Datuk Mohamed Salleh Bajuri.
Muhyiddin, 78, who was prime minister and Bersatu president at the time of the alleged offences, faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes linked to the Jana Wibawa project.
The bribes were allegedly obtained from three companies, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, as well as Datuk Azman Yusoff, for the party.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Office in Perdana Putra, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.
Muhyiddin was charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009. The offence is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
He also faces three charges of receiving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu's accounts at AmBank and CIMB Bank branches in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
For these charges, he was charged under Section 4(1)(b), read together with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), which is punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act.
If convicted, he faces imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the proceeds of unlawful activities, or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
The trial before judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues on Wednesday.