KUALA LUMPUR (March 10): Yayasan Albukhary, the foundation founded by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhthar Albukhary, had donated RM5 million to Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s (pictured) charity foundation using a cheque, the High Court heard today.  

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Amirudin Nordin, testifying in Zahid’s corruption trial, said there were no documents from both foundations to show that Yayasan Albukhary had made the donation to Yayasan Akalbudi in cash. 

Amirudin, 38, said his investigations showed any party that wished to donate to Yayasan Akalbudi would do so by donating to the foundation directly as Yayasan Albukhary had done. 

He said that although law firm Lewis & Co was the trustee for Zahid’s charity, there was no requirement to hand donations to the firm.  

Yesterday, another MACC investigator Mohd Fahmee Mohamad Nor had testified that a sum of RM7.5 million, which was allegedly given to Yayasan Akalbudi by Yayasan Albukhary, was not actually from Albukhary but from dubious sources.  

The court was told that the RM7.5 million was given to money changer Omar Ali Abdullah in cash, and he then issued 35 cheques for that amount, favouring Lewis & Co.  

Omar, who was also a witness in the trial, testified last year that he was instructed by Zahid in 2014 to handle the deposits for his Yayasan Akalbudi's account. 

Omar had testified that Zahid had told him that the donors were from Yayasan Albukhary, which would contact him to give him donations for Yayasan Akalbudi. Omar then said he was instructed to convert the money into cheques.

He also said in his sworn testimony last year that many men had come to see him to hand over funds on several occasions, but he could not recognise any of them. 

Fahmee said that during the course of his investigations, he did not probe Syed Mokhthar or Yayasan Albukhary, as Omar had already said he could not identify the men who claimed to be from the charity. 

"I saw this as money laundering involving dubious sources," he said. 

Fahmee also said that in their preliminary checks on Albukhary, the investigators could not find any receipts or documentary proof which suggested that the foundation gave the RM7.5 million to Yayasan Akalbudi.

Amirudin however said today that there had been a RM5 million donation from Albukhary to Akalbudi, stressing that this was a different donation from the alleged RM7.5 million donation.  

On cross examination by Zahid’s lawyers, Amirudin said he did not believe that the RM7.5 million was a donation from Albukhary, echoing Fahmee’s sworn testimony.  

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran then informed Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah that there were three more witnesses to go before the prosecution closed its case.  

MACC superintendent Mohamad Khairy Ibrahim later took the stand to verify that he did take the statement of a person named Idris Kechek, who has since deceased. Idris had served as a secretary to Yayasan Akalbudi.  

Zahid, the former deputy prime minister, is facing 47 charges – 12 for criminal breach of trust, eight for bribery and 27 for money laundering – involving millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

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