KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi instructed the High Court on Thursday (May 26) that he was shocked when a accomplice at Messrs Lewis & Co made a severe mistake by stating that the legal firm was the trustee of Yayasan Al-Falah.
Ahmad Zahid, 69, mentioned the matter was acknowledged by lawyer B. Muralidharan who was the 87th prosecution witness whereas testifying in courtroom.
“I state that Mr Muralidharan’s statement is just not true in any respect. To the very best of my data, I assert that the funds held by Lewis & Co belong to Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB),” he mentioned when studying out his witness statement whereas testifying in his personal defence at his trial over 47 prices with 12 of them involving breach of belief, eight prices of corruption and 27 prices of cash laundering involving tens of thousands and thousands of ringgit of funds belonging to YAB.
Yayasan Al-Falah belongs to Ahmad Zahid’s household and the inspiration board of trustees’ chairman is his brother Datuk Seri Mohamad Nasaee.
Ahmad Zahid mentioned following Muralidharan’s testimony, he consulted along with his legal professionals and was suggested to lodge a police report.
When requested by his lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, why the police report was lodged after the witness testified in courtroom, Ahmad Zahid mentioned he was solely made conscious of the matter whereas in courtroom.
“I mentioned with the legal professionals to seek out the easiest way… the reality should be upheld, then a police report was made as proof that it (the testimony) was misconstrued and to appropriate the misperceptions made by the witness,” he mentioned, including that he met Muralidharan, who can also be the trustee of the inspiration, at a marriage in Kuala Lumpur 30 years in the past.
The Bagan Datuk Member of Parliament mentioned lawyer Faisalludin Mohamat Yusoff, who was the 66th prosecution witness additionally instructed the courtroom on June 17, 2020, that the funds dealt with by Lewis & Co didn’t belong to Yayasan Al-Falah.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid vehemently denied the prosecution’s allegation that the cheques deposited into Lewis & Co’s account had been proceeds from unlawful actions, as an alternative, he mentioned the cheques given to YAB had been political contributions for charity work.
“The allegation is wrong and unfounded. I state that through the prosecution stage, prosecution witnesses had been referred to as to the courtroom to testify and all these witnesses had been donors to YAB who had given direct oral proof and thru recordings of their conversations, they instructed the courtroom that that they had made donations for charity work,” he mentioned.
Previously, Ahmad Zahid instructed the courtroom that he had instructed Affin Bank to switch YAB funds amounting to RM17,953,185.21 from the financial institution to the shopper account of Lewis & Co, and that cash nonetheless belonged to YAB and didn’t belong to Yayasan Al Falah, the legal firm or different folks.
Ahmad Zahid is going through 27 prices of cash laundering by participating in direct transactions involving revenue from unlawful actions between March 29, 2016, and April 11, 2018, and all of the offences had been allegedly dedicated on the Maybank department at Dataran Maybank on Jalan Maarof, Bangsar and Marhaba Enterprise Sdn. Bhd, Fahrenheit88, 179 Jalan Bukit Bintang, right here on the identical date.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid mentioned he had by no means requested for the three cheques amounting to RM2mil from the director of Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd, Azlan Shah Jaffril in three separate areas in Putrajaya.
He additionally mentioned that he had by no means requested for any cash from anybody from the visa processing firm and the matter was confirmed by Azlan Shah, the prosecution’s thirty eighth witness when he testified in courtroom.
“I might additionally wish to stress that I didn’t obtain these funds corruptly as these funds had been for charity and political donation as acknowledged by Azlan Shah in courtroom,” he mentioned.
According to Ahmad Zahid, primarily based on Azlan Shah’s testimony, the primary cheque totalling RM300,000 was positioned on the desk in his workplace, and the second cheque amounting to RM1mil was handed over whereas he was strolling in the direction of his automobile after an occasion on the Home Ministry Office in Putrajaya on Jan 4, 2018, whereas a cheque for the sum of RM700,000 was handed over at Seri Satria.
The trial earlier than Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes on June 27. – Bernama
