Witness: Instructions to deposit RM77m in cheques came from Zahid
Instructions to deposit 92 cheques worth close to RM77 million into the Yayasan Al-Falah’s client account at Messrs Lewis & Co were said to have originated from accused Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
According to a partner at the law firm, B Muralidharan, none of the cheques and banker’s cheques had come from Yayasan Al-Falah itself, the foundation chaired by Ahmad Zahid's younger brother Mohamad Nasaee Ahmad Tarmizi.
Muralidharan was testifying at the Kuala Lumpur High Court during the criminal trial of Umno president and former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid in relation to funds belonging to the latter’s foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
In fact, according to the 87th prosecution witness, orders to...
Instructions to deposit 92 cheques worth close to RM77 million into the Yayasan Al-Falah’s client account at Messrs Lewis & Co were said to have originated from accused Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
According to a partner at the law firm, B Muralidharan, none of the cheques and banker’s cheques had come from Yayasan Al-Falah itself, the foundation chaired by Ahmad Zahid's younger brother Mohamad Nasaee Ahmad Tarmizi.
Muralidharan was testifying at the Kuala Lumpur High Court during the criminal trial of Umno president and former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid (above) in relation to funds belonging to the latter’s foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
In fact, according to the 87th prosecution witness, orders to open the client account for Yayasan Al-Falah came from Ahmad Zahid.
A file opened for the foundation contained a ledger, Muralidharan said, in which was recorded all transactions carried out upon the orders of Ahmad Zahid.
Muralidharan was testifying during examination by deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran during the trial, which had entered its 33rd day.
Raja Rozela: Why record all cheques or transactions related to the 92 cheques under the Yayasan Al-Falah file?
Muralidharan: I was instructed to keep (them) in Yayasan Al-Falah file.
Raja Rozela: These cheques, all 92 cheques, were never given by Yayasan Al-Falah?
Muralidharan: No. Given by Datuk Seri Zahid.
Raja Rozela: Who told you to open the Yayasan Al-Falah file?
Muralidharan: Datuk Seri Zahid.
Furthermore, the witness told the court that instructions for the money to be kept in Yayasan Al-Falah’s client account also originated from the accused.
Raja Rozela: Did the instructions to hold the monies (in the client account), come from Yayasan Al-Falah?
Muralidharan: No, (Instructions came from) Datuk Seri Zahid
Previously, the 66th prosecution witness, who is a lawyer and Yayasan Al-Falah trustee Faisalludin Mohamat Yusuff, told the court that Mohamad Nasaee was also the Al-Falah foundation trustee and its authorised signatory.
Faisalludin also explained the differences between the two foundations - Yasayan Al-Falah was formed for the large family of Hamidi @ Ahmad Tarmidzi Radin Abdul Fateh, who was Ahmad Zahid and Mohamad Nasaee’s late father.
The Yayasan Akalbudi foundation was for Ahmad Zahid alone, Faisalludin said.
Ahmad Zahid is the founder, trustee, and sole signatory for Yayasan Akalbudi.
The Bagan Datuk MP is facing 47 charges comprising 12 for alleged criminal breach of trust, 27 for money laundering, and eight for corruption.
Throughout the trial, Ahmad Zahid’s defence counsel has been proposing to the witness that Lewis & Co was a trustee to the charity foundation Yayasan Akalbudi.
However, Muralidharan responded in the negative, similar to his co-partner V Premshangar’s testimony yesterday.
Premshangar had also testified that the law firm never acted for Yayasan Akalbudi.
With regard to the allegations of money laundering, Zahid is accused of receiving cheques amounting to tens of millions of ringgit from various parties which are then handed to Lewis & Co to be deposited in the firm’s client account.
Zahid was alleged to have moved a large portion of the money to be despised in Lewis & Co’s fixed deposit account.
In addition, he was accused of using RM5.9 million of the sum to purchase two bungalows.
In his witness’ statement, Muralidharan said the client account was opened on May 20, 2016 at Maybank’s Dataran Bangsar branch to receive funds “for and on behalf of” its client Yayasan Al-Falah.
The 87th witness in the trial added that a file containing the ledger was also opened on the same date, which was kept and managed by his clerk at the time.
“Most of the monies from the said 92 cheques or bankers cheques were later withdrawn from the client’s account - 6286 and placed in 27 fixed deposit accounts at the Maybank Dataran Maybank branch,” he said.
He also listed all 92 cheques, totalling RM76,967,355.41.
When Raja Rozela asked what was the arrangement between Lewis & Co and Zahid regarding the cheques, Muralidharan said Zahid informed him that the cheques are for religious and welfare purposes.
“(It is) especially for the construction of mosques and tahfiz schools in Bagan Datuk, for religious and welfare purposes. I was instructed (by Zahid) to put the money in a fixed deposit account to generate interest,” he said.
Asked when he was appointed as Yayasan Al-Falah’s lawyer, Muralidharan said it was about the time he received the first batch of cheques from Zahid, around May 2016.
However, when questioned whether Zahid is one of Yayasan Al-Falah’s board members, Muralidharan replied, “No my lord. Zahid is not a trustee at Yayasan Al-Falah”.
Despite that, he explained, it was upon Zahid’s instruction that five payments were made using money from the upliftment of three fixed deposit accounts, and using money from several cheques in the account that were not placed in fixed deposit.
This includes RM8.6 million to Ri-Yaz Asset Sdn Bhd, RM5.9 million to Bee Garden Holdings Sdn Bhd, RM500,000 to Yayasan Restu, RM900,000 to Yayasan Akalbudi, and RM1 million to Teknik Sempurna (M) Sdn Bhd.
When asked about Yayasan Akalbudi, Muralidharan said he had heard of the foundation before.
He said that, to his knowledge, Zahid is a trustee in the foundation, and it was also set up for religious and welfare purposes. However, he admitted that he had never read the foundation's memorandum and articles of association.
Raja Rozela also asked Muralidharan whether he is also responsible for keeping money from the cheques as advocate and solicitor, even though the money did not come from his client Yayasan Al-Falah.
Muralidharan replied: “I know Zahid and Nasaee have close relations. If I’m not mistaken, it (Yayasan Al-Falah) is family-owned […]”
However, Muralidharan did not finish his answer since the defence counsel Hamidi Mohd Noh asked the judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah for the court to adjourn for a break so that the accused could go to the toilet.
When proceedings resumed, the defence counsel Hisyam The Poh Teik asked for proceedings to be adjourned until tomorrow since Zahid was ill.
The proceedings were then adjourned.
Editor's note: Based on legal advice, the commenting feature for the above article has been disabled.
