KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): An assistant branch manager from AmBank Group told the High Court on Wednesday that a total of RM6 million was deposited into a bank account belonging to Parti Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in 2022, in the ongoing corruption trial of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Nor Paizah Osman, who works in the AmBank Amcorp Mall branch, took the stand as a prosecution witness and said the transactions were credited into Bersatu’s AmBank account ending “7041”.
Reading from bank records in court, Nor Paizah said that the deposits amounted to a combined RM6 million from the period of Feb 21 to Nov 17, 2022.
According to the witness, two separate deposits of RM1 million each were made on Feb 21, 2022, bringing the total deposits for that day to RM2 million.
The court also heard that a deposit of RM500,000 was recorded on May 30, 2022, followed by another RM500,000 deposit on Oct 31, 2022.
Nor Paizah further testified that four separate deposits of RM500,000 each were credited into the account on Nov 8, 2022, totalling RM2 million.
A further two deposits of RM500,000 each were made on Nov 17, 2022, bringing the amount credited that day to RM1 million.
However, she testified that there was no information identifying senders of the cheques.
She also said that there were six authorised signatories to the account, one of which was Muhyiddin.
She said that when the deposits were made on Feb 21, 2022, the balance in the account was RM5.61 million.
She also testified that when the cheques were deposited on Nov 17, 2022, there was a balance of RM29.49 million in the account.
Upon cross examination from Muhyiddin’s counsel Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Nor Paizah agreed with his contention that Bersatu’s transactions were all done transparently and there was no “surreptitious” activity in the account
Amer: When we open the account, transactions are public. There’s nothing surreptitious?
Nor Paizah: No.
Amer: You agree that everything (every transaction) was recorded and no surreptitious activity in the account?
Nor Paizah: Yes.
Amer: Whatever transactions of Bersatu, it wasn’t concealed?
Nor Paizah: Agreed.
Amer: All of Bersatu’s accounts were done transparently?
Nor Paizah: Agreed.
Amer then asked whether she had received any instruction from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) regarding Bersatu’s account.
Paizah replied that she could not recall.
Amer then asked if the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had raised any question about investigations by BNM during its probe over suspicious transactions to the account.
Amer: Do you agree that during the MACC investigation, you were not asked about any investigation by Bank Negara?
Nor Paizah: Agree.
Amer: And the MACC did not ask anything about a suspicious transaction report (STR)?
Nor Paizah: Agree.
On Tuesday, CIMB branch manager Lee Hui Nee had testified that the bank had filed an STR with BNM after the unusual amount involving millions of ringgit flowing into the party's account with CIMB. She said that the account had received RM19.3 million through 28 cheques between August 2021 and November 2022.
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 has been charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, 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 April 13.