NAJIB Razak had appointed former chief executive officer for SRC International, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as the authorised person with access to his personal bank accounts, the High Court was told today.

Prosecution witness R. Uma Devi, Ambank manager at the Jalan Raja Chulan branch, told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that Nik Faisal was Najib’s authorised person for his private Ambank accounts ending with 694, 481, 880, 898, and 906.

She said Najib had, in a letter in March 2011, informed the bank on the authorisation for Nik Faisal to access the account.

“The letter also confirmed that Najib was responsible for transactions as though it was issued by himself,” Uma, the 37th prosecution witness, told trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Najib is facing four charges of using his position as then prime minister to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.

He is already serving a 12-year jail term after failing in his final appeal at the Federal Court in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

The witness said Najib opened two accounts in Ambank – a savings account ending with 481, and a current account ending with 694 – on January 13, 2011. 

The two accounts were closed on August 26, 2013.

Three other accounts, ending with 880, 906 and 898 – were opened on July 31, 2013 and closed on March 9, 2015.

Uma added that after the two accounts were closed in August 2013, Najib instructed the bank to transfer RM150 million to one of the three new accounts, ending with 880.

“Another RM12.4 million from the first two accounts was also moved to the 880 account.”

The court also heard that a sum of RM30 million was transferred to Najib’s 694 account in February 2011, then another RM30 million was credited into his account in June the same year.

However, the witness did not specify where the two payments amounting to RM60.5 million came from.

Najib’s 1MDB trial continues on Monday. – September 8, 2022.