PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was "taken aback" by RM42mil that came into his personal bank accounts in 2015, the High Court heard.
Former Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd (IPSB) managing director Datuk Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman testified that he received a call from Najib while he was travelling to Brussels some time in July 2015.
IPSB was the charity arm of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) that was established for social welfare work. It received its funding from 1MDB and Yayasan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (YR1M).
During the phone call, Najib asked Dr Shamsul if the latter made three remittances, to which Dr Shamsul said yes.
"However, I explained that at the time of making the transactions, I was unaware as to who the accounts belonged to," he said at the RM2.28bil 1MDB graft trial involving Najib here on Monday.
Dr Shamsul explained that he followed the instructions of Ung Su Ling (former YR1M CEO) and Dennis See (former YR1M project director), as it was standard practice for him to process payments based on their directions for CSR programmes.
"Given their roles within YR1M, I had believed that these payments were intended for CSR purposes.
"From his reaction over the phone, it appeared to me that Najib was taken aback, as I distinctly heard him mutter under his breath, 'My God'," Dr Shamsul said in his witness statement.
Dr Shamsul, 64, who was under an examination-in-chief by Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said that he received instructions to do the remittances via an email from Ung.
Ung's email was followed up by an instruction from See who sought to ensure its execution.
According to Dr Shamsul, the first two remittances were on Dec 26, 2014 for RM5mil and RM27mil.
The third remittance was on Feb 10, 2015, for RM10mil.
The RM42mil became the subject matter of a separate criminal trial involving Najib.
When asked why he had followed the instructions to transfer the monies, Dr Shamsul said the directive came from Ung and See of YR1M, who were funders of IPSB.
"I had to follow their instructions regarding the disbursement of funds," he said, adding that he had assumed the monies were for CSR purposes.
The witness also said that he had taken it upon himself to check internally with IPSB's finance department on who was the bank account owner but the result was futile.
Dr Shamsul said he also tried to verify with Ung over the phone and in person multiple times.
"She (Ung) did not disclose this information to me.
"I also asked See the same question but he told me I did not need to know the details of AmPrivate Banking-1 MY and AmPrivate Banking-MY account holders," he said.
On Oct 30, last year, Najib was ordered by the High Court to enter his defence on four counts of using his position to obtain RM2.28bil gratification from 1MDB's funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Tuesday (March 11).
