THE prosecution’s 54th witness, former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu, returns to the witness stand as Najib Razak’s SRC International trial enters its 47th day today.

Defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh is expected to continue his cross-examination of the witness, focusing on financier Low Taek Jho and his influence behind transactions amounting to millions linked to Najib’s bank accounts.

Today’s cross-examination may go over the closure of former prime minister’s remaining three AmBank current accounts and the cancellation of his two credit cards in March 2015.

The defence may also question Yu on Low’s reaction after Bank Negara raided AmBank’s Raja Chulan branch on July 6, 2015, seizing documents and materials linked to alleged misappropriation of SRC International funds.

Yesterday, Yu revealed that she may have acted outside her job scope by using RM55,000 of her own money to regularise an overdraft in Najib’s current account ending in “906” on September 29, 2014.

Najib had issued a cheque for RM80,000 to businessman Lim Soon Peng that day, after which Yu attempted to alert Low on the shortfall in the current account.

She then attempted to contact his secretary, identified as Josie, but only managed to get in touch with Low’s associate, Kee Kok Thiam.

BlackBerry chat logs showed that Yu did message Josie the next day, thanking her for repaying the RM55,000.

The defence also sought to establish that others acted on behalf of Low’s directions and that former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil served as a mere “rubber stamp” to Low’s instructions.

Harvinderjit pointed to an example of Low’s influence when he facilitated RM5 million to be transferred from construction firm Putra Perdana into Najib’s account at the end of 2014 to ensure a cheque issued to Umno did not bounce.

Yu agreed she contacted Low on the morning of September 10, 2014 to inform him that there was a shortfall of RM3.8 million.

After a scramble that involved Low, Josie and Putra Perdana group CEO Jerome Lee, the RM5 million was transferred to Najib’s account by the end of the day.

Yu also confirmed that cheques were routinely issued despite warnings to Low and Nik Faisal about the lack of funds in Najib’s current accounts.

Yu also told Low to inform Najib to stop issuing cheques as red flags were raised by then AmBank group managing director Ashok Ramamurthy.

Yu agreed with Harvinderjit’s suggestion that she had become less cooperative with Nik Faisal and Low by January 2015 because of her constant warnings of possible Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 (Amla) offences had fallen on deaf ears.

Yu, who will be on the witness stand for her seventh day today, has consistently maintained that she did not carry out illegal transactions under Low or Nik Faisal’s instructions.

Najib’s 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 charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money-laundering and one count of abuse of power.

He is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution while Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali presides.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

5pm: Court adjourns till Monday.

4.10pm: Harvinderjit touches upon the RM27 million which was banked into Najib’s “880” account,

In their chats, Low tells Yu not to ask where the money came from. Harvinderjit suggests that Low had convinced her that it’s a donation from royalty. Yu agrees to this suggestion.

2.46pm: Harvinderjit is going through transactions in Najib’s accounts that led to them to be overdrawn.

2.41pm: Court resumes with Harvinderjit continuing his cross examination of Yu.

1.08pm: Court adjourns for lunch.

12.32pm: Harvinderjit picks out an instance where Yu raises the concerns to Low that Najib’s accounts are overdrawn.

Low responds and instructs her to tell Geh to move funds from SRC International into Najib’s account after the latter issued a cheque for RM3.5 million.

Harvinderjit suggests that Geh, Low and gang scrambled at the last minute to replenish funds without any thought process.

11.51am: Harvinderjit asks Yu about Low’s modus operandi.

Harvinderjit: All these Low-run ventures, they do first, then think later?

Yu: Yes.

11.36am: Harvinderjit has been going through chat logs between Yu and Nik Faisal with regard to SRC International.

10.20am: Yu said Low made overtures to hire her and her team, including Daniel Lee.

“He wanted to hire our whole team but we refused,” she said.

Harvinderjit: You mean he made you offers to join SRC? Lucrative? RM60,000 per month?

Yu: Yes, but we did not want to work with them.

10.15am: Harvinderjit reads out a chat between Low and Yu, whereby Low asked her if she knew anyone who was available to hire for the chief financial officer position at SRC International.

Yu had replied that she would let him know if she knew of anyone.

10.04am: After being rigorously questioned, Yu says she dealt with Terence Geh (former 1MDB executive director of finance) and Low for SRC International matters.

10.02am: Harvinderjit asks Yu to point out specifically where she dealt with Nik Faisal with regards to SRC International.

9.40am: Sithambaram objects to the questioning. The judge tells the witness to answer defence.

9.34am: Harvinderjit tells the court that Yu is evasive and avoiding the questions as V. Sithambaram objects to the line of questioning.

9.31am: They’re going through how a branch makes transactions and opens accounts.

9.15am: The defence begins day six of Yu’s cross examination.

After having sifted through Putra Perdana Berhad’s transactions, they are going through SRC International Sdn Bhd transactions. – August 1, 2019.