DR Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman has maintained that he knew little outside of Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd’s corporate social responsibility-related activities and transactions, including about remittances into Najib Razak’s bank account.

The managing director told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he also had no knowledge of the source of tens of millions that made its way into the company’s account in September 2014 and April 2015.

He said he took instructions from Dennis See Thuan Buan, who was project director at Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M), for which Ihsan Perdana also carried out CSR work, as well as his cousin, Ung Su Ling, who was YR1M CEO.

Ihsan Perdana received RM20 million in grants annually from YR1M and another RM20 million from 1MDB. The company, however, became a “transit” point for RM20 million in September 2014 and RM40 million in December 2014.

Dr Shamsul said that he did not know the source of these funds, adding that he followed instructions from See to transfer the money into accounts despite not being able to ascertain the identity of their holders.

Shamsul, however, said that he has never knowingly remitted CSR funds into Najib’s account.

He also stood by his statement last week that he did not know that the accounts ending in -880 and -906, of which RM42 million eventually made its way into between December 2014 and February 2015, were Najib’s.

When cross-examined by defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh, Shamsul said he had questioned Ihsan Perdana financial director Abdul Aziz Ismail regarding RM20 million credited to Ihsan Perdana’s account on September 11, 2014, which later made its way to the company Mail Global Resources Sdn Bhd.

Shamsul: I asked them and they said, ‘You don’t have to know’. We didn’t know the money was coming in and we were just told to send it out.

Harvinderjit: In your state of mind, did you suspect Najib was involved?

Shamsul: No.

Harvinderjit: If you had suspicions, would you call him?

Dr Shamsul: Yes, because this is very unusual. Mail Global Resources… but we are forced to do it because the money was already in.

Harvinderjit: Did you think it was CSR-related?

Shamsul: I don’t know what the money was for. I asked but they said I didn’t have to know.

Harvinderjit: If they told you to take the amount and put it in (his) accounts, would you have done it?

Shamsul: It would depend on who was telling me to do so.

Harvinderjit: I mean for non-CSR related activities… if you are instructed to put the money into the bank accounts of politicians, would you do it?

Shamsul: No, of course not.

Harvinderjit: Who is responsible for handling the grant money?

Shamsul: I am.

Shamsul said he only knew of the funds’ origin through media reports in mid-2015, after news of the 1MDB scandal broke and enforcement authorities began investigations.

He was himself arrested and questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission after returning from a trip to Belgium on July 1, 2015.

Shamsul said after he was released from remand, he called SRC International director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil to ask where the money came from.

He said Nik Faisal admitted that RM143 million of the funds deposited into Ihsan Perdana came from SRC International.

On his interactions with Najib, Shamsul said they were limited to general national policy meetings related to CSR projects.

Shamsul said he met Najib at his home, and discussed CSR projects to help Orang Asli and fishermen, as well as to fund haj pilgrimages.

He said Najib was easily contactable then, either through phone or WhatsApp.

Asked if he would have called Najib had he known the accounts belonged to the former prime minister, Shamsul replied in the affirmative. – May 28, 2019.