NAJIB Razak’s SRC International trial enters its eighth day today with Bank Negara senior investigating officer Ahmad Farhan Sharifuddin expected to return to the witness stand.

He is to be cross-examined for the third time by defence lawyers on the documents obtained from a bank raid on AmBank on July 6, 2015.

Farhan, who led one of three raiding teams, had hard copies of email communications between three AmBank relationship managers – Joanna Yu, Daniel Lee and Krystle Yap – and 10 individuals, including key 1Malaysia Development Bhd figures, such as fugitive financier Low Taek Jho.

They include former SRC International CEO and director Nik Faisal Nik Ariff Kamil; former director Jerome Lee Tak Loong; former 1MDB finance executive director Terence Geh Choh Heng; former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan; former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi; former SRC International CEO and president Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin; former 1MDB CEO Ismee Ismail; former SRC International director Suboh Md Yasin and See Yok Peng.  

The defence is also seeking other evidence, including a Blackberry device owned by Yu. 

Yu was in charge of the 1MDB and SRC International accounts. The defence is seeking to prove that Najib may not be fully aware of bank transactions carried out by nominees. 

Yesterday, five witnesses testified, including two Barisan Nasional leaders – Penang Umno liaison executive secretary Ahmad Sahar Shuib and former Upko vice-president Marcus Mojigoh – who told the court that their components received RM1 million each to fund welfare programmes and party activities. 

Three others also testified. They were Centre for Strategic Engagement Sdn Bhd (Cense) director Rita Sim, Najib’s former political secretary Wong Nai Chee and Johor Umno politician Onn Hafiz Ghazi. 

They testified that nearly RM800,000 in cheques were issued from Najib’s bank account to fund efforts to analyse Chinese news and issues as well as to run the Ah Jib Gor Facebook group, the publication of a Chinese weekly and news portal, Malaysian Digest.

Najib is facing three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money-laundering and one count of abuse of power over funds amounting to RM42 million linked to SRC International.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is presiding over the trial.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

5.40pm: Court adjourns and will continue tomorrow at 9am. Judge Nazlan reminds everyone to be punctual, saying: “Make sure everyone is on time.”

5.30pm: The cheques issued from Najib’s account with the number 2112022011906 were as followed:

RM240,000 to for Vital Spire;

RM2.5 million to Zulkarnain & Co;

RM300,000 to Centre for Strategic Engagement;

RM238,914 to Lim Soon Peng;

RM100,000 to ABS Trendmasters;

RM1 million to United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO);

RM400,000 to Trustee of Rumah Penyayang;

RM1 million to Solar Science Sdn Bhd;

RM50,000 to Asmadi Abu Talib from Kedah Umno;

RM13,800 to Manisah Othman his former employee’s widow;

RM56,500 to MOZ Sdn Bhd;

RM1 million to Badan Perhubungan Umno Negeri Pulau Pinang;

RM77,300 to Syadillah Enterprise;

RM300,000 to Umno Johor Baru.

Uma Devi confirmed that all these money moved from the account ending with 906.

5pm: Shafee asks to adjourn the matter as he explains the witness will need to be at court tomorrow too. “Let’s take a break, so some of us can see daylight.”

Tommy Thomas objects and says that the case must go on, if the witness can continue.

“I would like to go and exercise,” says Shafee. “If Tommy Thomas doesn’t that’s up to him.”

Judge Nazlan asks the witness Uma Devi if she was alright with continuing and she replied in the affirmative.

Nazlan rules for it to go on for another half an hour and asks the witness to continue.

4pm: Court takes 10-minute break.

3.40pm: Ambank Raja Chulan Branch manager had received a letter from Najib to authorise Nik Faisal to handle three of his accounts.

3.30pm: Uma Devi has confirmed that Najib has five accounts at Ambank and made Nik Faisal the authorised personnel for the accounts.

Nik Faisal was authorised to handle cheque books in a letter to the Ambank branch manager.

3.24pm: SRC International transferred RM50 million to Gandingan Mentari from December 24, 2014 to February 6, 2015. All directives were signed by Nik Faisal and Suboh Md Yasin.

Uma Devi has confirmed these transactions:

- RM40 million on December 24, 2014

- RM5 million on February 5, 2015

- RM5 million on February 6, 2015

3.05pm: Uma is verifying transactions that were authorised by signatories of the Ambank accounts belonging to Gandingan Mentari and SRC International.

2.40pm: Uma Devi is back on the stand. She says there are some typos in the statement given before she starts to read it.

2.36pm: Trial resumes. Sithambaram makes a motion to Nazlan to let the witnesses speak in any language they are comfortable with.

1pm: Court breaks for lunch and will resume at 2.30pm.

12.45pm: The signatories are Ismee Ismail, Che Abdullah @ Rashidi Che Omar, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and Suboh Md Yasin.

Under the company resolution, the signatories are divided into two groups – with the first three under one group and the other two the remaining group.

12.36pm: Uma lists out when the SRC accounts were open and the forms used to open them.

12.26pm: Uma said SRC International has two current accounts in AmBank. SRC International also named five signatories for the accounts.

12.22pm: Uma Devi Ragavan, 39, branch manager of AmBank in Jalan Raja Chulan takes the stand.

She will be reading a statement based on records she had with her.

12.20pm: Rosaiah is let go from the stand.

12.15pm: Trial continues with witness Rosaiah confirming transactions through the Affin Bank account.

11.56am: Court stands down for 10 minutes.

11.51am: Harvinderjit explains the money trail from Gandingan Menteri to Ihsan Perdana to judge Nazlan.

11.40am: Harvinderjit begs to differ, saying if the parties conducting these transfers and the signatories of Gandingan Mentari and SRC are the same.

“My client was manipulated by certain people and they have gained tremendously.”

11.36am: Harvinderjit said it is desirable and necessary to discover where the more than RM60 million went to as it did not go into Najib’s account.

Nazlan: But it has nothing to do with the charges.

Harvinderjit: A bigger portion has ended up elsewhere and going to unknown recipients. It shows that is part of the same transactions.

Sithambaram: This case is based on seven charges. Specific charges. This court is not to conduct an inquiry on how the other money is spent or where it has gone.

The prosecution urges the judge not to go on “a wild goose chase”.

11.28am: Harvinderjit tells the court after cross-examination that these three transactions from Gandingan Mentari only showed RM40 million when, in fact, the total was RM103 million. 

The bulk of the money was transferred out by Ihsan Perdana by way of cheques, he said.

11.08am: Harvinderjit confirms the payments, telling the court he may request further information from Rosaiah.

11am: Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh cross-examines Rosaiah.

10.37am: Court stands down for 10 minutes.

10.35am: Rosaiah confirms the following amounts from Gandingan Mentari AmIslamic deposited to Ihsan Perdana Affin Bank account number 10618000108, based on single credit confirmation advice generated from RENTAS

1. RM42 million on December 24, 2014

2. RM5 million on February 5, 2015

3. RM5 million February 6, 2015

10.28am: Another RM5 million cheque from Gandingan Menteri to Ihsan Perdana on February 6 was also cashed.

10.19am: Rosaiah confirms that Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, which has an account in Affin Bank, received RM40 million in December 24, 2014 from an AmIslamic bank account.

The AmIslamic bank account was under the name Gandingan Mentari.

The checking and approval of the cheque was done on the day it was received.

She tells court that Ihsan Perdana received RM5 million from Gandingan Mentari on February 5, 2015.

10.12am: Rosaiah Rosli, processing officer at Affin Bank, is the next witness. She will be reading out a written statement.

She is explaining the role of her job at this time with regard to RENTAS or real-time electronic transfer of funds and securities system.

10.10am: Edward is let go after five minutes of questioning.

10.06am: Edward is asked to verify the RM2.5million cheque which Ashraf earlier admitted banking in.

10.04am: As the head of the department, Edward has the power to get information particular documents and cheques that go through the bank.

He is being asked to verify a cheque for Am Islamic bank deposited into a CIMB account.

10.01am: The next witness is Edward Innasi, 58, who works in CIMB as a deputy manager at the cheque clearance operations department.

10am: The lawyers’ fee that Ashraf took was agreed upon by Habibul and informed the latter he wanted to deduct the fee from the cheque. He was allowed to do so.

The witness is allowed to stand down after questioning.

9.55am: At the same time, Habibul brought Ashraf to meet a corporate figure who wanted to supply military items.

Shafee: Maybe you forgot that Habibul told you… maybe he told you anything else about the cheque?

Ashraf: No, I am clear that he told me this cheque was for a defence contract.

Shafee: Did you suspect anything about the cheque?

Ashraf: No, I did not because of his standing.

9.52am: Ashraf said he was aware that Habibul held many positions in government-linked companies and that he was a political analyst.

Shafee: Is there a possibility, when you received the cheque, were type told what the payment is for?

Ashraf: He said that this was for his defence contract he received. He didn’t elaborate further.

9.44am: Muhammad Shafee Abdullah begins his cross-examination on Ashraf.

9.43am: As instructed, Ashraf made all payments he was asked to make while deducting his fees from that amount (RM2.5 million).

9.39am: Habibul instructed Ashraf to pay the former’s wife and his children with the money. Habibul also instructed Ashraf to write out other cheques to different parties and also cash cheques.

9.37am: Ashraf deposited the cheque the next day at a CIMB current account because Habibul wanted things to run smoothly.

He said he waited for instructions from Azizul to make payments from the cheque.

9.33am: Ashraf tells the court that a colleague named Encik Habibul Rahman (Khadir Shah) informed him that the firm will be receiving a cheque payment and asked him to accept the fee as a defence contract which he will let handle.

“I was in business with him in Fuel Subs House Sdn Bhd to manage petrol subsidies.”

Ashraf said he went to Habibul’s house to pick up the cheque.

9.25am: The judge enters the court and Najib takes his place in the dock.

Lawyer Ashraf Abdul Razak, 48, who runs his own firm takes the stand. Ashraf was formerly from Zulqarnain and Co, the recipient of a RM2.5 million cheque in 2015.

9.24am: Court has not started although lawyers from the defence and prosecution are ready and waiting.

Attorney-General Tommy Thomas is not in attendance today.

The prosecution is led today by Manoj Kurup and V. Sithambaram.

8.55am: Najib enters the courtroom in a brown suit. He is seated at the front row of the public gallery. – April 24, 2019.