The High Court heard on Monday that a total of RM800,000 was deposited into a Bersatu bank account through four separate transactions from an engineering and construction firm four years ago.
Maybank Shah Alam branch operations officer Chang Hui Chin, 50, told the court this during the ongoing trial involving Muhyiddin Yassin, who is facing four charges of abuse of power involving RM225.3 million in alleged bribes, along with three counts of money laundering amounting to RM200 million.
Responding to questions from Deputy Public Prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, the witness said the payments were made by KCJ Engineering Sdn. Bhd. via four cheques, each valued at RM200,000, issued to Bersatu on September 1, 2022. She confirmed that the cheques bore the signatures of Zulhelmi Mairin @ Kunting and Mohd Zaid Yusoff.
During cross-examination by defence counsel Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, Hui Chin agreed that Bersatu was the recipient of all four cheques. She also concurred with the suggestion that the transactions were conducted in a transparent manner, a point that adds another layer of scrutiny in the high-profile proceedings.
Under the amended first to fourth charges, the Pagoh Member of Parliament is accused, in his capacity as a public official — namely the Prime Minister and Bersatu president at the time — of abusing his position to receive RM225.3 million in bribes. The funds were allegedly obtained from an individual, Azman Yusoff, as well as three companies: Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, purportedly for the benefit of party associates.
The offences are said to have been committed at the Prime Minister’s Office in Perdana Putra, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020, and August 20, 2021. All four charges were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of no less than five times the value of the alleged gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
For the fifth to seventh charges, Muhyiddin, in his role as party president, is accused of receiving proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to RM200 million, including funds from Bukhary Equity, which were allegedly deposited into Bersatu’s account at CIMB Bank.
These alleged offences were said to have taken place at CIMB Bank’s Menara Kuala Lumpur branch between February 25, 2021, and July 8, 2022. The charges fall 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 (AMLA), which provides for imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine of no less than five times the value of the illicit proceeds or RM5 million, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
Proceedings in the case are scheduled to resume this Thursday.
