KUALA LUMPUR (April 28): All 29 transactions totalling RM19.5 million from a construction firm to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) were flagged as suspicious by a local bank, the High Court heard on Tuesday.
Norazeanti Miswan, the assistant branch manager at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd’s PKNS Shah Alam branch, testified that internal Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) were issued for each of the transactions by Mamfor Sdn Bhd, which took place from May 12, 2021, to Nov 16, 2022, due to the amount and the frequency of the transfers.
The ninth prosecution witness was responding to queries by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin in former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s ongoing power abuse and money laundering trial.
Wan Shaharuddin: Were there any STRs issued?
Norazeanti: A questionable activity report was issued [for all 29 transactions] and sent to the headquarters for further evaluation.
Wan Shaharuddin: Why?
Norazeanti: Because each transaction, withdrawal, was suspicious.
She went on to explain that the continuous transactions ranged from RM500,000 to RM2 million to the same recipient — Bersatu.
All the transactions — save for one — were made via banker’s cheques as donations to the political party.
A single transaction on Feb 3, 2022, which was a transfer of RM1 million via a cheque, was issued to an unknown recipient.
However, when later asked to elaborate, she said that the recipient of the cheque is Bersatu.
Norazeanti, who has been a bank officer with Bank Muamalat since 2010, also testified that these transactions were not the norm for a company.
“Usually, other companies will make transactions in relation to the nature of their business. I have not encountered a company which makes payments to other political parties,” she said.
She added that Mamfor, the construction firm, had closed their account in Feb 26, 2025, after the bank issued a notice to do so.
Wan Shaharuddin: In this case [...] the reason for the issuances of the banker’s cheques were donations? Or were there other words like “political donation”?
Norazeanti: Just donation to party [Bersatu].
Wan Shaharuddin: You know Umno, PAS, DAP?
Norazeanti: They are political parties.
Wan Shaharuddin: Did Mamfor [make transactions] to Umno, PAS, DAP?
Norazeanti: No.
All the transactions flowed from Mamfor’s single bank account (ending 715), which was opened in the tail end of 2016.
The signatories of the account were Shahradzi Shamsuddin, Fazidah Kassim, and Mohd Azmi Sham Mokhtar.
During the afternoon session, Norazeanti added that the difference between a regular cheque and a banker's cheque is that a regular cheque would contain both the sender and recipient’s names, while a banker's cheque would only contain the recipient's name.
"The customers choose the banker's cheque because it is safer [...]. They [also] have to make sure that they have sufficient funds before applying for a banker’s cheque," she said.
In response to DPP Noralis Mat's query, the witness said that there were no 'hidden elements' with regards to a banker’s cheque, as the applicants and the recipients have to be clearly stated.
When asked why it took the bank three years to issue a notice to shut down Mamfor's account, the witness answered that she was not sure, as it fell under the headquarters' purview.
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues on Wednesday with the defence's cross examination of the same witness.
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, 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.
Muhyiddin 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, 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, 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.