COMPANIES with links to wanted financier Low Taek Jho are at the centre of a series of unexplained transactions, Najib Razak’s SRC International criminal trial heard today.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court was told by a prosecution witness from Maybank that the transactions, 10 in all, occurred between July 8, 2014 and January 7, 2015. The largest transaction involved RM140 million.

Maybank Kuala Lumpur main office branch assistant manager Halijah Abdul Wahab testified that all the transactions involved Putra Perdana Construction Sdn Bhd, Putra Perdana Development Sdn Bhd and Permai Binaraya Sdn Bhd, which had accounts with Maybank.

Low was not named in court today, but the three companies were previously reported to be subsidiaries of Putrajaya Perdana Sdn Bhd, a construction and property development company that was once controlled by him.

Putrajaya Perdana was also not named in court today.

The company was reportedly sold in 2008 to UBG Bhd, which was linked to Sarawak governor’s Taib Mahmud’s family. Taib was at the time the state’s chief minister.

UBG was later acquired by Petrosaudi International Ltd (Seychelles), reportedly assisted by a loan from 1Malaysia Development Bhd in 2010. The company was later sold to Cendana Destini Sdn Bhd in 2012.

Two weeks ago, AmBank manager R. Uma Devi had testified in the trial that RM35 million was channelled from SRC International to Putra Perdana Construction on July 8, 2014.

Today, Halijah testified that the Permai Binaraya Sdn Bhd account received RM34.99 million from Putra Perdana Construction, and RM27 million of it made its way into Najib’s AmBank account ending in the numbers 880. Both transactions took place on July 8, 2014.

Halijah added however, that six months later, on December 29, 2014, the RM27 million was transferred back from Najib’s account to Permai Binaraya.

Halijah testified that the single largest transaction occurred on December 12, 2014, when RM140 million was transferred from Putra Perdana Construction to SRC International.

The only other transaction directly to SRC International was a RM30 million transfer from Permai Binaraya on January 7, 2015.

Halijah’s testimony today made no mention of money originating from SRC International or that the three companies were recipients of SRC International funds.

Permai Binaraya, which is a subsidiary of Putra Perdana, was reported to have been established for just a month when RM27 million was transferred from its account to Najib’s account on July 8, 2014. 

Najib faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money-laundering and one count of power abuse over RM42 million he allegedly received in 2014 and 2015.

The money, witnesses testified, was from the RM4 billion in loans funnelled to SRC International from KWAP in 2011 and 2012. 

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

Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution in the trial presided over by justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

The transfers, to which Halija testified based on the advice slip for the Rentas transfers, were: 

From Putra Perdana Construction

8/7/2014 - RM34.99 millon - to Permai Binaraya

14/7/2014 - RM105 million - to Putra Perdana Development

11/8/2014 - RM30 million - to Putra Perdana Development

12/12/2014 - RM140 million - to SRC Intenational

7/1/2015 - RM3 million - to Permai Binaraya

From Permai Binaraya

8/7/2014 - RM27 million - to Najib’s ‘880’ account

14/7/2014 - RM5 million - to Putra Perdana Development

7/1/2015 - RM30 million - to SRC International

From Putra Perdana Development

12/12/2014 - RM110 Million - to Putra Perdana Construction

12/12/2014 - RM30 million - to Putra Perdana Construction. – May 8, 2019.