NAJIB Razak’s SRC International trial enters its 13th day today, with the 29th witness, Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) senior officer Amirul Imran Ahmat returning to the stand.

The former assistant vice-president of KWAP’s fixed income department testified last Thursday that the former prime minister signed a letter, dated June 3, 2011, approving an RM3.95 billion loan request from SRC International to the government pension fund.

Amirul testified that the letter had Najib’s handwritten words and signature, which he recognised. The letter included the handwritten words “Agree with this proposal” (Bersetuju dengan cadangan ini), Amirul told the court. 

Later, on July 19, 2011, KWAP’s investment panel approved the RM2 billion loan to SRC International, made on a government guarantee.  

On August 12, 2011, a request was made by SRC International that the money be wired into its company account, as it already had government backing via 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

On August 22, 2011, KWAP also received a letter from the Finance Ministry on the government guarantee for the RM2 billion for 10 years, Amirul testified. The loan was approved on August 26, 2011.

Witness Wedani Senen, 45, remittance department manager at the AmBank head office in Kuala Lumpur, told the court last Tuesday that the money was transferred into two SRC International current accounts.

She confirmed RM2 billion was credited into current account number 211-202-200973-6 via four transfers of RM500 million each on August 29, 2011, about seven months after the account was opened on January 28, 2011.

A single transfer of RM2 billion was credited into current account number 211-202-20165-0 on March 28, 2012, about four months after the account was opened on November 10, 2011, she said.

From the RM4 billion funnelled into SRC International, RM42 million allegedly made its way into Najib’s AmBank accounts.

The previous government said SRC International was formed to identify and invest in natural resources and mineral ventures, including acquisition of stocks or company securities.  

Najib faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money-laundering and one count of abuse of power over those funds.  

He is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution while justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is presiding.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

3.35pm: Questioning for the day has stopped. Shafee explains to judge Nazlan that they have to go to the Court of Appeal tomorrow to hear the judgement to recuse Gopal Sri Ram from the 1MDB trial, and said that they will finish at 9.30am. They should be in court by ten.

Judge Nazlan has ended proceedings for the day and court will resume at 10am tomorrow.

3.20pm: The transactions are still being scrutinised.

2.30pm: Farhan is clarifying the cheque processing methods with Norhayati.

2.23pm: Court resumes with examination of Affin Bank accounts.

1.18pm: Court breaks for 30 minutes.

1.12pm: Farhan is still going through all transactions in the 1MDB account.

12.17pm: Farhan asks Norhayati to verify statements from the account.

12.11pm: Sulaiman ends his questioning.

Farhan Read begins his cross-examination of Norhayati by asking her whether these transactions were made before GE13 or after. She said she was not sure.

11.35am: Norhayati confirms that RM5 million from Ihsan Perdana’s Affin Bank accounts were moved to Najib’s ‘906’ AmBank account. Another RM37 million was moved to his ‘880’ account.

11.32am: From January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015, RM27 million was transferred on December 26, 2014; RM5 million on December 26, 2014; and RM10 million on February 10, 2015.

11.15am: Reading the statement for account No. 106180001108 from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015, Norhayati said there were credit transfers as following:

* RM40 million from Gandingan Mentari on December 24, 2014

* RM5 million from Gandingan Mentari on February 5, 2015

* RM5 million from Gandingan Mentari on February 6, 2015

Prosecutor Sulaiman Kho questions her.

11.18am: She goes through transactions made by Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd’s account held in Affin Bank.

11.07am: Norhayati Mohd Yunus from Affin Bank is the next witness. She is also the 30th witness.

10.39am: Shafee asks the judge to stand down the witness and continue his cross-examination tomorrow as lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, who is supposed to conduct the cross-examination, is unable to be in court today.

DPP V. Sithambaram also agrees to this and tells judge Nazlan that he can proceed with the next witness and Amirul can be cross-examined tomorrow.

Nazlan allows this and gives the court a recess of five minutes.

10.27am: Ishak asks Amirul why the need to know SRC International’s investments before giving out the loans.

He answered that it was his job to know why it needed the money.

Amirul also clarifies and confirms with the prosecution that there were two loan requests from SRC International.

The first was for RM3.95 billion, for which only RM2 billion was approved. There was another RM2 billion loan request which was approved.

10.23am: Amirul said during his time at KWAP, the RM4 billion loans to SRC International were the biggest it had given out.

For the first loan, Amirul was asked to prepare an investment proposal paper for only RM1 billion. Later, he was asked to make one for RM2 billion. He said he didn’t know why his superior asked him to change it.

10.19am: The second offence was that KWAP investments in the form of loans cannot exceed 10% of its allocation of investment in domestic-fixed income, court hears.

The investments need not follow the guidelines as they had a government guarantee, he said.

10.16am: Amirul tells the court that for the approval of the first RM2 billion loan, there was an offence committed under paragraph 5 of KWAP’s guidelines and policy manual.

SRC International only had RM1 million equity but sought an RM4 billion loan, he said.

10.11am: On March 28, 2012, Amirul received a letter from the Finance Ministry stating that the government had given a guarantee that the RM2 billion be given to SRC International for 10 years and the loan approved by the cabinet on February 8, 2012.

The letter also requested that the RM2 billion be given to SRC International first and that the ministry would issue the government guarantee letter within 10 days.

His superiors told him on the same day that the RM2 billion had been banked into SRC International’s account.

10.05am: Amirul said he had never received loan requests from the government before, apart from this during his time in KWAP.

9.58am: Another potential investment was in something called “Electrum”.

Nik Faisal said in the email it needed up to US$500 million for the first tranche plus US$1 billion for various subsidiary and company levels.

The investment was to be done jointly with Kuwait Investment Authority and Mubadala Development owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

The email ends with Nik Faisal stating that they are in advanced discussions for these investments.

9.54am: Among them was a potential US$200 million (RM840 million) investment in ETT, then touted as the world’s largest coaking coal listing.

9.48am: Subsequently, Nik Faisal sent three emails to Amirul about the various investments and IPOs that SRC International were looking to invest with the money.

9.38am: Amirul said on March 20, 2012, KWAP chief Azian Noh told him that she had met with Najib, Wan Abdul Aziz and Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah where they discussed the loan to be disbursed through a progress payment.

He said he received an email on the matter from Nik Faisal and that SRC will have to sign the memorandum for the loan.

Nik Faisal also confirmed the meeting between the parties and that he had received approval from Najib as the finance minister for the second RM2 billion loan be given the same terms as the first RM2 billion loan.

9.31am: After receiving an email from Terence, an 1MDB officer, for some relevant information on SRC International, Amirul was then asked by his superior, the late Ahmad Norhisham to prepare a paper to be presented to the investment panel of KWAP for the additional RM2 billion.

This loan was given a government guarantee. The same as the first.

The panel then approved the loan on March 20, 2012, court told.

9.26am: Amirul, who served in KWAP as a special officer, explains to the court in a written statement that on March 13, 2012, he received a letter from SRC International from one Terence Geh.

The letter stated that it required proposed additional financing for RM2 billion from KWAP. The letter was signed by SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Arif Kamil.

9.17am: Amirul Imran Ahmat is back in the stand and prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff continues questioning.

8.53am: Najib, dressed in a blue suit, arrives. – May 6, 2019.