ROSMAH Mansor’s corruption trial today heard that Pekan Umno secretary Ahmad Aazmey Abu Talib was offered a RM50 million “consultancy fee” for helping Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd to secure a RM1.25 billion solar project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

Jepak Holdings managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin testified the company had offered Aazmey 4% of the project value as his consultancy fee, subject to successful negotiations with the Education Ministry for the contract.

Under cross-examination by Rosmah’s lawyer, Akberdin Abdul Kader, Saidi admitted he had agreed to pay Aazmey RM50 million for help to land the contract.

Akberdin asserted that Jepak Holdings and Aazmey had signed an agreement to the effect on July 19, 2016. The lawyer showed the court the documentt, which Saidi confirmed to be genuine.

The offer was made to Aazmey after he helped Jepak Holdings to obtain cover letters for the project from then prime minister Najib Razak as well as the minutes of meetings where Najib had recommended the company for the job.

Akberdin said Aazmey had procured for him 11 meeting minutes and cover letters from Najib.

Two notable minutes contained Najib’s recommendations for Jepak to be awarded the project through direct negotiation and for the Education Ministry to issue the company with the letter of award (LOA).

Saidi said Aazmey would receive an additional 2% of the project’s maintenance cost if the contract were to be extended to the sixth year.

A series of payments were made to Aazmey in 2017 but Saidi said he could not recall the exact amount paid.

The payments included RM450,000, paid in a hotel in Kuantan, RM500,000 in Sunway Putra Mall, RM250,000 in a coffeehouse in Kuala Lumpur, and RM300,000 in Sunway Putra Mall.

Akberdin asked if these were progressive payments towards the RM50 million fee stated in the agreement, to which Saidi replied that some of the money was given for “flood relief efforts”.

Asked if the payments to Aazmey had amounted to nearly RM2 million, Saidi said he could not recall.

“If I could check my transaction record, then maybe I would be able recall,” he said, adding that he had been remanded and investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

On August 3, Saidi’s business partner Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah testified that Saidi had agreed to make a series of payments to Aazmey for his help in getting Najib to issue support letters for Jepak to be appointed the contractor of the solar project.

Rosmah, 69, faces three corruption charges, one of which is for soliciting RM187.5 million from Saidi as inducement to help Jepak Holdings secure the solar project.

She is also accused of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from Saidi in 2016 and 2017.

The hearing continues tomorrow with Saidi still on the stand. – August 17, 2020.