KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) did not investigate the possibility of a connection between Sarawak Report’s article, ‘Najib Razak’s Personal Accounts Linked To 1MDB Money Trail Malaysia Exclusive’ and leakage of bank documents.
Testifying in Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s SRC trial today, MACC assistant commissioner (Special Operations) Rosli Husain, 54, said his team only focused on investigating offences under the MACC Act 2009, Penal Code and Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 in regard to the case.
The accused’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh pointed out to the 57th prosecution witness that the article was posted on July 2, 2015, prior to MACC’s investigation into SRC International Sdn Bhd and Najib’s personal bank accounts on July 6, 2015.
Harvinderjit: During your investigation, did you know how the article obtained the information for publication in the website?
Rosli: I had not asked.
Harvinderjit: If you had received information about a leakage in your investigation would you have investigated?
Rosli: If there was a leak from my investigation paper, yes I would have investigated.
Harvinderjit: Before MACC’s investigation began, do you agree that the bank transaction document could be obtained from elsewhere other than the bank?
Rosli: Yes, I agree.
Harvinderjit: MACC raided AmIslamic Bank when the investigation was ongoing. This means, before your team went there to get the documents there had already been information leakage (to Sarawak Report).
Rosli: Based on the circumstances, that assumption is correct.
Harvinderjit: Do you know who in AmIslamic Bank leaked out the information?
Rosli: Oh, I don’t know.
Asked further if the matter was not important to MACC to be investigated, the witness said it was under the authority of the Royal Malaysia Police and he only focused on his investigation.
He said he could not be sure whether there was manipulation in the bank documents prior to MACC’s raid at AmIslamic Bank on July 6, 2015.
Rosli also testified that 193 witnesses were called to record their statements during the investigation.
“The statements of most of the principal witnesses such as Najib’s former press secretary Wong Nai Chee; Ambank Jalan Raja Chulan branch manager, R. Uma Devi; Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) CEO Datuk Azian Mohd Nor; and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd managing director, Datuk Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman were recorded in 2015.”
According to Rosli, most of the statements were recorded once or twice before the witnesses were recalled to prepare their witness statements for the trial.
He said the statement of former AMbank relationship manager Joanna Yu Ging Ping who had handled Najib’s three accounts was recorded six times between August 2015 and June 2018.
The trial before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali continues on Thursday. — Bernama
