KUALA LUMPUR: Despite repeatedly insisting that Najib Razak knew about the transactions in his bank accounts, a former banker conceded that the former prime minister may have been kept unaware by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho.
Former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu said it did not occur to her that anyone would use a prime minister’s bank accounts to launder money.
Yu was testifying at Najib’s 1MDB corruption trial in the High Court here today.
She said the three accounts Najib held with AmBank were monitored by its compliance department, with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) duly notified of transactions.
“The accounts (were) known to everyone,” she said.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Shafee Abdullah, Yu admitted that in 2014 substantial deposits totalling £50 million had been placed in British pounds.
She said this was arranged by Low, also known as Jho Low, to circumvent questioning that would arise if the transactions were made in US dollars.
Explaining a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) text she sent to Jho Low, Yu said she told the fugitive businessman that AmBank’s correspondent bank, Wells Fargo, would normally ask AmBank to disclose to them the identities of recipients of large remittances made in US dollars.
“Jho insisted that the PM’s accounts must be kept private and confidential. So, I suggested to him to (place the deposits) in British pounds,” Yu said.
Despite the request for secrecy, Yu said that the bank was still obliged to report the transactions to the central bank under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amla).
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Najib is standing trial for 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.