KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told that a total of RM19.5mil that was deposited into Bersatu’s account from a construction company was rather “unusual” and the transactions were flagged as “suspicious” by a bank.
This was testified to by Bank Muamalat PKNS Shah Alam assistant branch manager, Norazeanti Miswan, who said that her branch had issued a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) for each of the 29 cheques used in the transactions from Mamfor Sdn Bhd to Bersatu.
The witness, who was testifying in the graft trial of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said Bersatu had received sums of between RM500,000 and RM2mil from Mamfor between May 12, 2021 and Nov 16, 2022.
When asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin whether such transactions were common, Norazeanti said she had never encountered them in her career.
DPP Wan Shaharuddin: Throughout your experience as a bank officer, are these transactions considered common by a company?
Norazeanti: No. I have never seen a company make such transactions to a political party, because other companies normally make payments in line with their business. I don’t see other companies paying to other political parties.
According to the witness, Mamfor did not make any payments to other political parties except for Bersatu.
DPP Wan Shaharuddin then asked Norazeanti if the bank had issued STRs on the transactions.
“Yes, every 29 transactions, there was a STR that was sent to Bank Muamalat’s headquarters,” she said.
DPP Wan Shaharuddin: Why (were the STRs issued)?
Norazeanti: There is suspicion on the transactions by Mamfor as the amount of each transaction was large and frequent.
The witness also told the court that Mamfor closed its Bank Muamalat account on Feb 26, 2025.
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 and an individual on behalf of the party.
The offence was 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 illegal activities totalling RM200mil, which were deposited into Bersatu’s bank accounts between February 2021 and July 2022.
The hearing resumes before Justice Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin today.
