Bank Filed Suspicious Transaction Report Over "Tens Of Millions" Deposited Into Bersatu Account, Court Told

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- The High Court today heard that a bank had filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) after detecting deposits amounting to “tens of millions” of ringgit into Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) bank account.

CIMB Islamic Bank Menara KL Sentral branch finance manager Lee Hui Nee, 58, said RM19.3 million was deposited into the party’s account through 28 transactions between Aug 24, 2021 and Nov 11, 2022.

She said RM4 million of the total amount was deposited via cheque by businessman Datuk Azman Yusoff, while another RM1 million was deposited by Mamfor Sdn Bhd.

During examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Lee, the prosecution’s second witness, said the bank had no authority to prevent deposits from being made into the account.

She said this on the second day of the trial of former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is facing seven charges of abuse of position and money laundering.

Lee agreed with Wan Shaharuddin that the bank had filed an STR regarding the transactions, but said she did not know what action was taken after the report was submitted.

She explained that an STR would be issued whenever the bank detected a “red flag” in an account, after which the report would be submitted to BNM as part of the bank’s regulatory obligation.

Responding to a question from Deputy Public Prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat on how such “red flags” were detected, Lee said the bank’s system would flag accounts with large transactions that were inconsistent with the account holder’s profile.

“Accounts with large transactions that are inconsistent with the account profile will trigger a red flag in the system. The branch will then review the account profile and submit an STR,” she said.

Asked why the account was considered inconsistent, Lee said it was due to the high frequency of deposits involving very large sums.

She also agreed with Mahadi that between 2021 and 2022, none of the four authorised signatories for the Bersatu account had instructed the bank to stop any deposits.

Earlier, while reading her witness statement, Lee said that besides Muhyiddin, the original applicants for the opening of the account were Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, Kamarulzaman Habibur Rahman and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

“On Dec 1, 2020, the account’s authorised signatories were changed to Muhyiddin, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Datuk Mohamed Salleh Bajuri,” she said, adding that the account remains active.

When questioned by defence counsel Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Lee said officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) did not ask her to produce the STR related to the Bersatu account during questioning.

She also agreed with the lawyer’s suggestion that the STR report has not been submitted to the court so far.

To Amer Hamzah’s suggestion that the issuance of an STR does not necessarily indicate illegal activity, Lee said the final determination rests with Bank Negara Malaysia.

Muhyiddin, 78, who was prime minister and Bersatu president at the time of the alleged offences, faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes linked to the Jana Wibawa project.

The bribes were allegedly obtained from three companies, namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, as well as Datuk Azman Yusoff for the party.

The offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Office in Perdana Putra, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.

Muhyiddin was charged under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

He also faces three charges of receiving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu’s accounts at Ambank and CIMB Bank branches in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.

For these charges, he was charged under Section 4(1)(b) read together with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act.

If convicted, he faces imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the proceeds of unlawful activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher.

The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA