THE prosecution has not shown that it was illegal for Yayasan Albukhary to contribute RM7.5 million in cash to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s charity foundation Yayasan Akalbudi, the defence said today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

It was alleged that Zahid had ordered money changer, Omar Ali Abdullah, to convert the cash into 35 cheques to be deposited into law firm Lewis & Co to purchase fixed deposits in Maybank.

Zahid’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said that the prosecution had also failed to prove that the accused instructed Omar Ali to do so. 

The Bagan Datuk MP is currently facing 47 charges – 12 involving criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption, and 27 for money-laundering involving tens of millions of ringgits of funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

“Yayasan Albukhary is a registered foundation, therefore it is a legal entity engaged in legal and lawful benevolent activities,” Teh said, adding that this was supported by the evidence given by Omar Ali, who informed the court that the monies came from Yayasan Albukhary.

“Omar Ali has not disclosed other sources of funds apart from Yayasan Albukhary,” the lawyer said.

Yayasan Albukhary is owned by business tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah had questioned the defence team during proceedings on why the RM7.5 million donation had to be done in “bags of cash” instead of cheques.

Teh replied that the prosecution was at fault for not investigating the matter and that Albukhary would have the answer.

The lawyer also argued that as the prosecution had not investigated Yayasan Albukhary to determine if it had contributed the funds to Yayasan Akalbudi, the cash converted to cheques by Omar Ali cannot be said to be from illegal proceeds.

He said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Mohd Fahmee Mohamad Nor (the prosecution’s 95th witness) admitted during the trial that no investigation was conducted on Yayasan Albukhary.  

“It is our submission that the burden is on the prosecution to prove that monies were illegal proceeds. The burden is not on the defence,” Teh said.

With regard to the allegation that Zahid instructed Omar Ali to convert the cash to 35 cheques, Teh said Omar Ali contradicted his own evidence.

“Omar Ali in his witness statement said that Zahid had asked him to convert the cash to cheques.

“However, Omar Ali changed his stance in cross-examination where he agreed that the conversion of cash into cheques was done by him at his own initiative.

“This is because banks would not accept more than RM50,000 in cash,” Teh said.

The defence argued at their conclusion on Zahid’s 27 money laundering charges today that there was no consideration of the evidence before the charges were pressed against Zahid.

“It lends credence to the belief that the motivation for the prosecution was political and not based on law or evidence,” Teh said.

The trial continues tomorrow. – September 14, 2021.