FORMER prime minister Najib Razak used an Ambank personal account into which US$70 million was deposited in January 2012 for corporate social responsibilities (CSR) use and not where his personal banking affairs were conducted.
He told the Kuala Lumpur High Court in the SRC International Sdn Bhd's civil action against him that although the now-closed AmBank current account was under his name, he did not use the account for his banking and affairs.
He was referring to his AmBank account ending with 694, which was opened in 2011 but later closed in 2013.
It is alleged that Najib had received funds misappropriated from SRC International Sdn Bhd and 1MDB in the account.
Najib was the finance minister at the time.
During cross-examination, SRC’s counsel Lim Chee Wee asked Najib to read out the balances in the 694 account.
Najib said that in January 2012, the opening balance stood at RM290 million, while the closing balance was about RM 505 million.
On Jan 3, 2012, US$70 million (RM280 million) was deposited into the 694 account.
Lim pointed out that another RM200 million was credited into the account in January 2012, which was only four months after SRC received the first RM2 billion tranche of the loan from the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) - a statutory body which manages the pension scheme for Malaysia’s civil servants.
Later, when asked if he requested any form of independent verification as to the source of the US$70 million, Najib said he did not request it since he did not ‘personally’ manage the account.
Najib also said he has no knowledge of the fund’s sources and he stood by his evidence that the account is of ‘CSR’ nature.
It has been established in court that SRC International Sdn Bhd's former chief executive officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil was the person who managed Najib's accounts, being the account mandate owner.
However, yesterday, Najib testified that Nik Faisal, who is currently on the run, was not the go-between for the company.
The former Pekan MP had also said that he was baffled why SRC board members did not directly verify company matters with him.
SRC, under its new management, filed the suit in May 2021, claiming that Najib committed a breach of trust and power abuse personally benefited from the company's funds and misappropriated the said funds.
It is also seeking a court declaration that Najib is responsible for the company's losses due to his breach of duties and trust and for Najib to pay back the RM42 million in losses that it has suffered.
Najib, 71, has been jailed since Aug 23, 2022, after he was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC funds. He was sentenced to 12 years jail and fined RM210 million.
Following a petition for a royal pardon filed on Sept 2, 2022, the Federal Territories Pardons Board on Jan 29 halved Najib’s jail term to six years, and reduced his fine to RM50 million. - September 26, 2024
