Zaid launches civil action to inspect PM’s accounts

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Cabinet minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has started a civil action against a bank to inspect five bank accounts belonging to the Prime Minister and disclose sources of its incoming funds in relation to the RM2.6bil donation issue.

Zaid, who named AmBank Islamic Bhd as the sole respondent, said the information was relevant and material for his other action against the Prime Minister and three others namely, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the Government and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s stepson Riza Shariz Abdul Aziz.

Zaid’s lead counsel Americk Sidhu appeared before High Court judge Justice S. Nantha Balan yesterday for the hearing of the ex-­parte application in chambers.

After the proceedings, Americk said Justice Nantha Balan had allowed the transfer of the case to another court following a request by Najib’s lawyer Rishwant Singh.

He said the case is now slotted before a deputy registrar for case management on Nov 24, adding that Justice Noraini Abdul Rahman would hear the matter.

Rishwant Singh said he had asked for the transfer because the current matter arises from Zaid’s other action which is presently before Justice Noraini and that this application was originally filed there for hearing before it was withdrawn.

In his court papers, Zaid wants the bank to allow him and his solicitors to inspect and take copies of the entries made in Najib’s five accounts with the bank.

He wants the bank to release copies of all documents to disclose the sources of incoming funds as well as the recipients of payments made out from the accounts for the period between the date of opening the accounts and Sept 30 this year.

Alternatively, Zaid is asking the bank to provide him or his solicitors photocopies of all the statements of account of those bank accounts for the same period.

In the other action where he had named the Prime Minister and the three others, Zaid is claiming for an order that Najib pay back RM42mil to the Government over alleged breach of his (Najib) duty as a trustee when the sum was paid into his personal bank account with AmBank Bhd by SRC International Sdn Bhd through intermediaries.

(SRC International was a subsidiary of 1MDB until it was taken over by the Finance Ministry in February 2012.)

The Attorney-General’s Chambers had on Jan 26 found that no criminal offence was committed by Najib in relation to SRC International and the alleged RM2.6bil donation.

Among others, Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali said that he found no evidence to show that the donation was “an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do anything in relation to his capacity as Prime Minister”.

Mohamed Apandi said that the donation, which was actually RM2.08bil, was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family and given without any consideration.

On the two investigation papers on SRC International, Mohamed Apandi said there were no evidence to prove that Najib had any knowledge nor had he given any approval for the transfer of the monies from the account of SRC International into his personal accounts.