Bank manager confirms RM78,800 transfer in Wan Saiful case

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here was told on Tuesday (June 25) about a transaction of RM78,800 from Wan Saiful & Associates Sdn Bhd to an automobile company two years ago.

Banking Services Manager Low Mong Tuan, 44, from Public Bank Berhad, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman confirmed the transaction to Tagami Auto Enterprise Sdn Bhd occurred on Aug 12, 2022.

Low, previously with Public Bank’s Sg Chua branch, noted the account for Tagami Auto was opened on Jan 7, 2008, requiring one of two authorised signatories.

“Based on the specimen signatures for this account, there are two authorised signatories, Yet Kam Looi and Thin Poh Sin, and the account requires one of the two signatories,” she said while reading her witness statement at the trial of former Bersatu Information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan involving 18 charges of money laundering and two charges of bribery related to the Jana Wibawa project.

Previously, Wan Saiful, as the director of WA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, was charged with transferring RM78,800 from a CIMB Bank Berhad account owned by the company to a Public Bank Berhad account owned by Tagami Auto Enterprise Sdn Bhd as payment for a Ford Ranger vehicle.

Meanwhile, when questioned by lawyer Chetan Jethwani, representing Wan Saiful, on whether the transaction dated Aug 12, 2022, was considered suspicious, Low replied: “I do not know.”

When Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Rasyidah Murni Adzmi asked if the witness was unaware the transaction on Aug 12 was reported as suspicious, Low said: “At that time, I did not know whether the transaction was suspicious until I received an email from the higher office stating that documents related to the transaction needed to be provided to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). I only got to know about it when the investigating officer interviewed me”.

Earlier, the prosecution’s eighth witness, Mohamad Norazman Md Salleh, told the court that RM36,550 was transferred from WSA Advisory Group to a bank account of Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara.

Mohamad Norazman, 44, an assistant bank manager at Bank Rakyat’s Seberang Jaya branch in Penang, said the money was transferred online on October 10, 2022.

“Referring to the Bank Rakyat account statement in the name of Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara, there is a credit transaction into this account through Duit Now transfer amounting to RM36,550 on Oct 10, 2022,” he said.

Wan Saiful also faces one charge of transferring RM36,550 alleged to be proceeds of illegal activities from a CIMB Bank account owned by WSA Advisory Group to a Bank Rakyat account owned by Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara.

When questioned by lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, Mohamad Norazman agreed that he was not asked by MACC investigating officers whether there were any suspicious transactions for the Pertubuhan Penggerak Muafakat Bagan Seberang Perai Utara account.

However, during re-examination by DPP Rasyidah, the witness explained that the RM36,550 transaction occurred in 2022 and the assistant bank manager at that time was someone else.

“At that time, the assistant bank manager was Mr. Roslan, and he was the individual who would make a report if there were suspicious transactions. I am not sure if this transaction was reported or not,” said Mohamad Norazman.

The trial before Judge Rozina Ayob will resume on July 10.

According to the charges, Wan Saiful, 47, is accused of soliciting bribes from one Lian Tan Chuan, as an inducement to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd obtain the Central Spine Road: Sertik to East Coast Highway Interchange project from the Malaysian government, valued at RM232 million.

He is also accused of receiving RM6,962,694.54 through the CIMB Bank Berhad account of his firm WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, from Nepturis Sdn Bhd’s Maybank Islamic Berhad account as a reward for helping the company secure an acceptance letter for the project.

The Tasek Gelugor MP allegedly committed the offences at the Royal Lake Club, Taman Tasik Perdana, here in April 2022, and at CIMB Bank Berhad’s Bukit Tunku branch between July 8 and Sept 30, 2022.

Wan Saiful also faces 18 charges of money laundering involving RM5.59 million, including transferring and using the proceeds for various purposes, such as purchasing a Ford Ranger vehicle, making payments to the National Sports Council, and transferring money to several company accounts.

All offences are said to have occurred at CIMB Bank Berhad’s Bukit Tunku branch here between Aug12 and Nov 13, 2022, under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. – Bernama