KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — CIMB banker Lee Hui Nee today confirmed her bank branch had previously alerted CIMB headquarters about suspicious transactions in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s bank account, due to the frequent and unusual inflow of millions of ringgit into this account.
Lee, manager of CIMB’s Menara CIMB KL Sentral branch, said this while testifying as the second prosecution witness in Bersatu president and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s corruption and money laundering trial.
Lee yesterday verified 28 cheques totalling RM19.3 million were deposited into this Bersatu bank account from August 2021 to November 2022.
Today, Lee said her branch had “escalated” or sent a suspicious transaction report (STR) to CIMB’s headquarters on Bersatu’s account, as the bank statements showed “large amount inflow of funds” on many days and this had triggered a “red flag” on the account.
She said consistent and large amount of funds flowing into a bank account which is not consistent with the account’s profile would be a “red flag”.
“My branch placed STR in relation to frequent unusual large amount,” she told the High Court, referring specifically to Bersatu’s CIMB account which was opened at the branch.
As the branch manager, Lee said she oversees all high-profile accounts such as Bersatu’s bank account, and confirmed that there were large amounts of transactions in this account in 2022: “So based on the unusual large transactions, I got my team to escalate.”
During cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Lee agreed that banks have the power to terminate any bank account especially if the bank views the account as being used for illegal purposes.
Lee confirmed that she had never received any instructions to close Bersatu’s bank account at her branch, also confirming she had not given any instructions as the branch manager for this account to be closed.
Amer: Despite all the transactions that were shown to you yesterday, you have never taken any action, giving instructions for your office to close Bersatu’s account?
Lee: Agree.
Later, deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin asked if she could close Bersatu’s account as the CIMB branch manager.
Lee replied that she could not have done so without instructions from CIMB’s headquarters: “I cannot. So whatever instructions, especially high-profile accounts, whatever instructions on high-profile accounts, it has to be from headquarters. If I simply terminate an account, tomorrow I can be out of a job.”
Lee also confirmed she could be sued if she had closed the bank account without instructions, also saying that she cannot confirm if the money deposited in Bersatu’s account were illegal or not.
Lee also explained why she had not contacted Bersatu’s treasurer despite the frequent and unusual sums of money deposited in Bersatu’s CIMB account.
Lee said that this is because her main duty as branch manager is to hunt for sales and bring in business for the branch, and that it is her operations team that would take care of day-to-day operations such as Bersatu’s account which involves transactions.
“Therefore it speaks for why I don’t have to personally liaise with the treasurer, how is the transaction, how is the account, and things like that,” she said.
But she confirmed that she was still the one in charge “overall”, and that she can confirm that an STR had been raised on Bersatu’s account as she had ensured it was highlighted to CIMB’s headquarters.
She did not reveal the number of times an STR had been raised by her branch on Bersatu’s account to CIMB’s headquarters, in order for the headquarters to directly submit the STR to regulator Bank Negara Malaysia.
Earlier, Amer had referred to Bersatu’s party constitution which said Bersatu’s funds could come from donations and other methods agreed by its supreme council, and which also stated that all financial contributions to the party have to be declared and kept in the party’s account or by the party’s trustees.
Based on this party constitution, Amer suggested that all the RM19.3 million cheque deposits in Bersatu’s CIMB account are actually “donations”, but Lee said she is “unable to confirm” this.
Mohamad Amin Idris, a former assistant director of the Registrar of Societies (RoS), as the fourth prosecution witness confirmed that Bersatu had been registered by RoS on September 8, 2016 and that Muhyiddin has been the president of the political party since then.
Mohamad Amin, who is now the assistant director of the Unit Pantau Madani at the Prime Minister’s Department, confirmed that societies are not based on profit.
“However, a registered society can obtain donations or any other ikhtiar (method) allowed with RoS Malaysia’s permission for the party’s sustainability,” he said.
The trial before High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin resumes on April 13, with Muhyiddin’s lawyers expected to cross-examine Mohamad Amin.
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