By Justin Cheng, and Timothy Achariam | The Edge Malaysia
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) bank account could not be closed over a series of deposits at the branch-level without headquarters’ approval, the court was told on Wednesday.
Lee Hui Nee, finance manager for CIMB Islamic Bank’s Menara KL Sentral branch, testified in the corruption trial of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the High Court that she would “probably be out of a job” if she had attempted to terminate the account unilaterally.
She also said she was unaware of the outcome of a suspicious transaction report (STR) filed over the frequent, unusually large deposits that went into Bersatu’s account.
Banks in Malaysia are required to alert Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on any transaction regardless of the amount, including attempted transactions that appear unusual or illegal, has no clear economic purpose, or does not commensurate with the customer’s profile or business activities.
BNM, however, does not disclose the outcome of the report filed.
Lee was pressed on why Bersatu’s account had not been closed despite what appeared to be suspicious transactions during cross-examination by Muhyiddin’s defence led by Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad.
Amer: As a reporting institution, any bank has the discretion and power to terminate any account. Agree?
Lee: Agree.
Amer: Especially if the bank is of the view that the account is being used for unlawful or illegal purposes. Agree?
Lee: Agree.
Amer: You will also agree with me that you have never received any instruction from either headquarters or Bank Negara Malaysia to close Bersatu’s account. Agree?
Lee: No instructions were given.
Amer: As the branch manager responsible for Bersatu’s account, you had never given any instruction for this account to be closed. Agree?
Lee: Agree.
Amer: Despite all the transactions that were shown to you yesterday, you have never given instructions to your officers to close the account. Agree?
Lee: Agree.
Amer: And I am suggesting the reason why there is no such instruction received is because this account did not receive illicit funds. Agree or disagree?
Lee: No comment.
During re-examination by prosecution lead Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Lee explained the bank’s internal processes for monitoring high-profile accounts.
Wan Shaharuddin: If there is any information about illicit money, can you as branch manager close the account?
Lee: It must be from HQ. If I simply terminate any high-profile account, I would probably be out of a job tomorrow.
She then testified on how her team escalated an STR due to frequent, unusually large deposits, in line with the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 to the bank’s headquarters.
“As a rule of thumb,” she said, “we study the transaction” before filing a report. “If there [are] large amounts which [are] not consistent with the profile, it will alert us to escalate the STR to our HQ.”
Lee added the branch was also not informed of any subsequent action by BNM.
Earlier in the trial, the prosecution also touched on Bersatu’s party constitution and auditing requirements, though Lee could not confirm if the documents presented in court were the exact version in her branch’s custody.
Muhyiddin, 78, faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes linked to the Jana Wibawa project from three companies and an individual for Bersatu. He also faces three charges of receiving RM200 million in proceeds from unlawful activities deposited into Bersatu accounts at Ambank and CIMB branches between February 2021 and July 2022.
If convicted, Muhyiddin faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines of at least five times the bribe value, or up to 15 years’ imprisonment and fines for the money-laundering charges under AMLA.
The trial before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin continues on April 13.
Edited By Jason Ng
