A bank officer testified that RM6 million was deposited into Bersatu’s account via 10 cheque transactions in 2022, as the trial of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin continues.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told that RM6 million was deposited into an account belonging to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) between February and November 2022.
Former AmBank assistant manager Nor Paizah Osman, 45, said the funds, ranging from RM500,000 to RM1 million, were made via 10 separate cheque transactions.
She confirmed the account was opened in September 2018 under the name of the Bersatu association as a current account at the Amcorp Mall branch.
“Based on this specimen card, I confirm that there are six authorised signatories listed under the ‘Authorised Signature’ section, namely Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Datuk Mohamed Salleh Bajuri, Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya, Muhammad Zulhelmi Zaulkafly and Ili Syazwani Karmaine,” she said while reading her witness statement.
She explained that according to bank procedure, only the named individuals could authorise the specimen card for the account to be validly opened.
The testimony came on the third day of the trial of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is facing seven charges of abuse of power and money laundering.
When asked by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat who the Bersatu president was during the period of the deposits, Nor Paizah replied it was Muhyiddin Yassin.
Under cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s counsel Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, she agreed that all incoming transactions into the account were in order and that none of the six signatories had full control over it.
She also told the court she had never received any inquiry from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) regarding Bersatu’s financial matters.
The witness further agreed with a prosecution question that the bank account did not have any issues or suspicious elements.
This follows testimony from a CIMB bank manager yesterday, who said the Bersatu account received RM19.3 million through 28 cheque transactions between 2021 and 2022, prompting the bank to file a suspicious transaction report.
The fourth prosecution witness, former RoS assistant director Mohamad Amin Idris, 41, confirmed that Bersatu was registered with the RoS on Sept 8, 2016.
Muhyiddin, 78, faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for Bersatu linked to the Jana Wibawa project from three companies and an individual.
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.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between March 2020 and August 2021.
If convicted of abuse of power, he faces a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
For the money laundering charges, he faces imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the proceeds or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin is set to resume on April 13.
The Sun Malaysia
