by MARK RAO & RAHIMI YUNUS / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak’s SRC International Sdn Bhd graft trial resumed yesterday as a central bank officer testified about the raid on a local bank four years ago.

The second day of the trial heard Azizul Adzani Abdul Ghafar testified that he and three other officers had seized documents related to Najib’s personal bank accounts from AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s branch in Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.

The manager at Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was the second witness in the trial which the former prime minister (PM) is accused of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC into his personal bank account.

The seizure of the documents was conducted on July, 6, 2015. Other documents related to SRC and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd were also seized by Azizul Adzani and his team.

“(The purpose of the operation) was to help in the investigation (into offences) which were allegedly committed under Section 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act relating to investment obligation,” the 41-year-old BNM officer told the court.

Gandingan Mentari and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd — purportedly SRC’s corporate social responsibility partner — were believed to be the vehicles used to channel the funds.

Azizul Adzani took the stand after Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) deputy registrar Muhammad Akmaluddin Abdullah.

Earlier yesterday, Muhammad Akmaluddin was cross-examined and testified about the appointment of the company’s directors and becoming a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

He confirmed that SRC was incorporated on Jan 7, 2011, and that it came under the purview of the 1MDB nine months later with a RM1 million paid-up capital, based on CCM records.

The records also showed the company amended its Memorandum of Association on Sept 25, 2012, to allow for the appointment of Najib as its advisor emeritus.

The 66-year-old Pekan MP faces seven charges related to SRC, namely three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT), one count of abuse of power and three counts of money laundering.

If convicted, Najib faces a maximum 20-year jail term under CBT and 15 years under the money-laundering charges. He claimed trial to all charges.

On the first day of trial earlier this month, Attorney General Tommy Thomas said the prosecution intends to prove that the former PM abused his position as 1MDB chair and SRC advisor emeritus to misappropriate the funds for his personal gain.

This includes paying off credit-card expenses made at Chanel in Honolulu, US, as well as issuing cheques for renovation works at his residences and to fund various Barisan Nasional component parties.

Defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah reiterated that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.

Najib faces a total of 42 charges relating to 1MDB, ranging from corruption and money laundering to abuse of power, taking illegal bribes and breaching trust. The former PM maintained his innocence and claimed trial to all charges.

Najib was first charged on July 4 last year in relation to SRC with three counts of CBT and one abuse of power before facing an additional three money-laundering charges on Aug 8 that same year.