FORMER AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu was told to leave the bank in 2015 after it was fined millions of ringgit for failing to flag suspicious transactions in former prime minister Najib Razak’s accounts, the Kuala Lumpur High Court heard today.

AmBank was slapped with a RM53.7 million fine by Bank Negara Malaysia on November 23, 2015, for non-compliance of banking regulations.

Yu told the court she had come under increasing pressure after Bank Negara raided AmBank’s Raja Chulan branch in Kuala Lumpur to seize documents related to Najib’s and SRC International accounts.

“I was asked to leave,” Yu said when cross-examined by defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh.

She agreed with his suggestion that it was due to heat the bank was taking. 

Yu said her fellow relationship managers Daniel Lee and Krystle Yap left later. The trio were part of a eight-person liaison department.

When she began to explain that she later took AmBank to court, ad hoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram interjected, saying she cannot disclose information about her case because she had signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Bank Negara senior investigating officer Ahmad Farhan Sharifuddin told the court in May that AmBank had failed to submit suspicious transactions reports (STRs) regarding Najib’s five accounts between January 13, 2011 and March 9, 2015.

Harvinderjit also asked Yu about her relationship with former Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) CEO Ung Su Ling, referring to chats where both women mentioned someone known as “our friend”.

Yu said the term “our friend” was used in 1MDB-related chats to identify Low or former 1MDB finance director Terence Geh. 

Yu was prompted on the contents of a chat group whereby Low instructed Ung to remove cash from 1MDB-related accounts. 

Yu also verified she received an email Low sent her and others, where Low informed them that he has been made a special adviser to the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA). 

TIA, a state wealth fund formed in 2008, was taken over by the Minister of Finance Inc the following year. 

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

His charges are linked to RM4 billion in loans issued to SRC International in 2011 and 2012, for which he is accused of receiving RM42 million in his personal accounts in 2014 and 2015.

The 66-year-old is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah while Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution. Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali presides. 

The trial continues tomorrow. – July 23, 2019.