KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court heard that millions of ringgit would not have entered Bersatu's bank account if Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the party president, had not also been the prime minister at the time.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said this in the prosecution's opening statement in Muhyiddin's Jana Wibawa graft trial here on Monday (March 9).
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"The testimonies will show that if it was not for the accused being the Bersatu president and the prime minister at the material time, Bersatu would not have received millions in contributions," he said.
Wan Shaharuddin said that while the millions did not go into Muhyiddin's own pocket, the money was deposited into a bank account affiliated with him.
"We admit that the millions did not go into the accused's own pocket, but into Bersatu's account. He was the party president and the then prime minister, who had an indirect interest in the Jana Wibawa project," the DPP added.
The prosecution will also show that the then finance minister acted solely based on a minute issued by the accused and did not profit from his actions.
"Umno, the political party associated with the finance minister, also did not gain any profit from this," Wan Shaharuddin said.
He said the prosecution would rely on documentary, direct and circumstantial evidence to prove its case.
"We will be calling around 30 witnesses," he added.
Muhyiddin, 78, who was then prime minister and Bersatu president, was charged with four counts of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM225.3mil in relation to the Jana Wibawa project from three companies – Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd – as well as from Datuk Azman Yusoff, for the party.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra, in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.
He also faces three counts of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities totalling RM200mil from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which were deposited into Bersatu's Ambank and CIMB Bank accounts at the banks' branches in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
The hearing continues before Justice Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin.
