Witness: Nik Faisal told me RM143m came from SRC
NAJIB TRIAL | Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd managing director Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman discovered that SRC International Sdn Bhd had remitted RM143 million to his company only after authorities began investigations.
During cross-examination by Harvinderjit Singh, the witness said this information was relayed to him by SRC International director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, whose current whereabouts are unknown...
NAJIB TRIAL | Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd managing director Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman discovered that SRC International Sdn Bhd had remitted RM143 million to his company only after authorities began investigations.
During cross-examination by Harvinderjit Singh, the witness said this information was relayed to him by SRC International director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, whose current whereabouts are unknown.
"We did not know where the money came from. We guessed that the money came from the funder (1MDB and Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia [YR1M]).
"Nik Faisal did not tell me (the money) came from SRC International until I found out from the media... So (when) I (was released) after my remand period, he (Nik Faisal) said the money was from SRC International.
"The conversation was short and brief," Shamsul said.
Shamsul (photo), a general practitioner, was detained for four nights by the authorities in July 2015 with a remand order.
Shamsul was formerly a director in charge of 1MDB's corporate social responsibility work.
He was later instructed to form another company, which eventually became Ihsan Perdana, and was under the impression that his company received funding from 1MDB and YR1M.
SRC International was established in 2011 as a subsidiary of 1MDB. It then secured an RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), which was supposed to be used for investments in strategic industries.
Read more: Ihsan Perdana boss: We were 'forced' to write cheques
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is facing charges of receiving gratification of RM42 million to help secure government guarantees for SRC International's RM4 billion loan.
Najib was the chairperson of the 1MDB board of advisors with some executive powers. Article 117(c) of 1MDB's memorandum and articles of association states that the prime minister's approval was necessary for "any financial commitments (including investments)" [Editor's note: Parentheses maintained].
Najib was also the chairperson of YR1M.
In his earlier testimony today, Shamsul said after Ihsan Perdana received the RM143 million, he was later "forced" to sign the following cheques:
- 28 cheques amounting to RM73 million to Mail Global Resources Sdn Bhd;
- Cheques to one Razli Talib and one Razlan Shah, amounting to RM3 million; and
- Cheques to bank accounts held by Najib amounting to RM42 million.
Two weeks ago, Shamsul testified that Najib had roped him into 1MDB in 2010 for CSR work.
They had known each other because Najib was the Umno president at the time and Shamsul was formerly an Umno Youth exco member.
Shamsul also testified that had he known that his 1MDB and YR1M colleagues were asking him to transfer RM42 million from Ihsan Perdana to Najib's bank accounts, he would not have done so.
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