KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- A former banker who managed Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s bank accounts in Ambank denied being a rogue banker and conspiring with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low to land the former premier in court.
In the witness box today was Joanna Yu Ging Ping, 48, a former relationship manager with Ambank Berhad. She was testifying on the 41st day of Najib’s trial in relation to RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds.
During the direct examination, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk V.Sithambaram posed to Yu that there had been allegations she was a rogue banker acting in concert with Jho Low which resulted in the present charges against the accused.
DPP: What do you want to say to that?
Witness: I have no conspiracy. It’s just that when the account was overdrawn, we just notified them (SRC chief executive officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and Jho Low) because otherwise it would be dishonoured cheque for Datuk Seri (Najib)’s account.
Earlier, the 54th prosecution witness testified that Najib had given his mandate to Nik Faisal to act on his behalf on the operations of his bank accounts.
DPP: From January 2011.. when he (Najib) opened the first current account on Jan 18, 2011, to closing of the account on Aug 30, 2013, was there any complaint by the account holder Datuk Seri Najib or Nik Faisal that the account was not operated in accordance with the mandate?
Witness: No there was no complaint
DPP: Similarly from July 31, 2013, when a further current account was opened until its closure on March 9, 2015, was there any complaint by the account holder Datuk Seri Najib or Nik Faisal that the account was not operated in accordance with the mandate?
Witness: No
DPP: Did Datuk Seri Najib or Nik Faisal accuse you and your team of acting beyond your authority?
Witness: No
DPP: Did the account holder (Najib) accuse you of conspiring with Jho Low to carry out unauthorised or fraudulent transactions when you were the relationship manager of his accounts?
Witness: No
Yu also testified that Najib’s current bank account statements and his credit card statements were kept by the Relationship Manager team and later delivered by hand to Nik Faisal at SRC’s office in Bangsar.
However, she said the bank had wrongly sent the credit card statements dated Sept 8, 2014 to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya.
Yu was also asked to read a chat between her and Jho Low dated Oct 14 2014 via Blackberry message (BBM) - “This is a chat between Jho and me”. Jho: Please don't send bank statements to MNR (Mohd Najib Razak), the statements are now kept with you right? Me: So now we have been instructed for the statements to be sent to us and for us to hand deliver to Nik Faisal for the client (Najib).
She said the conversation came about after she received a call from Nik Faisal and Jho Low that Najib’s credit card statements were actually sent to the client and not sent to the Relationship Manager as per mandate.
“Upon receiving the statements, they contacted us and asked why the account holder’s statements were sent to the Prime Minister’s Office; I can't remember the exact address but it was the Prime Minister’s Office,” she said.
When asked to read out the address on the credit card statements dated Sept 8, 2014, the witness read, “Datuk Seri Mohd Najib bin Haji Abdul Razak, Government of Malaysia, care of Encik Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Office of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Main Block Perdana Putra Building, Federal Government Admin Centre, 62502, Putrajaya.”
Yu agreed with Sithambaram’s suggestion that the statements were wrongly sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.
DPP: The purpose was to hide these statements from Datuk Seri Najib?
Witness: I don't think that was the purpose.
Cross-examined by Najib’s lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, Yu said the Relationship Managers kept Najib’s bank statements at the office before sending them to Nik Faisal.
She said she remembered one incident where Jho Low had reprimanded the Relationship Managers because they did not follow the instructions on the bank statements.
Najib, 66, is facing three counts of criminal breach of trust, one count of abusing his position and three counts of money laundering involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds amounting to RM42 million.
The hearing before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali continue tomorrow.
-- BERNAMA
