THERE is no factual basis for Najib Razak to blame others for the transfer of the RM42 million from SRC International into his personal bank account, the prosecution told the Court of Appeal today.

Adhoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram said the former prime minister’s elaborate scheme to defraud SRC International of its monies involved the participation of his “puppets”.

But there was no evidence that they had received any personal benefit from the scheme, he added.

For instance, the lawyer said Najib had appointed Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as SRC International CEO but had him removed after a complaint from the company’s chairman Ismee Ismail.

Najib, however, continued to retain Nik Faisal in a fiduciary position as an authorised signatory of SRC International’s bank accounts.

“Why would Nik Faisal, who was removed as the CEO of SRC International for financial improprieties by the appellant, still be kept as its authorised bank signatory?” the lawyer said.

“This scandalous retention of Nik Faisal was to carry out the appellant’s bidding, which Nik Faisal faithfully carried out by causing the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International into the appellant’s personal bank account.

“Any claim of the appellant that Nik Faisal did not have his mandate and was untrustworthy is without any factual basis. Indeed, such a claim flies against the facts.”

The lead prosecutor also said that Najib had continued assigning his personal banking mandate to Nik Faisal for many years until the closure of his AmBank accounts.

“Any attempt by Najib to disassociate himself from Nik Faisal’s actions when the appellant’s directions to the SRC Board of Directors were given via Nik Faisal is not credible.

“Similarly, to suggest Nik Faisal went rogue in relation to the letter of instructions to the bank is simply outrageous.”

At the trial stage of the case, former Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) CEO Ung Su Ling testified that Najib’s principal private secretary, the late Azlin Alias, had instructed and provided Ung the details of the account to have the RM42 million transferred from Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd (IPSB).

“It is reasonable and highly likely that Azlin, who was managing the accounts of the appellant, would have apprised the appellant of the RM42 million credit, especially since the appellant utilised this money,” Sithambaram said.

The RM42 million was alleged to have moved from SRC International via Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd (GMSB) and IPSB, and finally into Najib’s personal account to avoid detection by the authorities.

GMSB is one of the subsidiaries of SRC International and IPSB was the company involved in handling the SRC’s corporate social responsibilities.

“IPSB managing director Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman had testified that the monies did not belong to IPSB but instead was used as a conduit for the transfer of the funds to the appellant’s undisclosed account.

“The fact that Shamsul was told to transfer the funds to an undisclosed recipient further confirms that the purpose of the transfer was to avoid detection by the authorities.

“The appellant’s defence that he did not know the source of funds is also a deliberate lie as his own sworn affidavit confirms his knowledge that the RM42 million came from SRC and entered his bank account,” added the prosecutor.

Najib is appealing against the conviction and sentencing imposed by Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali on July 28 last year on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power.

Najib, 67, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and RM210 million fine for misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International funds.

He is currently out on bail of RM2 million in two sureties.

Today is the ninth day of the appeal hearing which will continue tomorrow before a three-man bench led by Court of Appeal judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil.

The two other judges are Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Has Zanah Mehat. – April 19, 2021.