KUALA LUMPUR: ‘My platinum cards are not going through Jho.
“Can you call AmBank Visa and Mastercard right away? Thanks.’
The above message was read out at the High Court here today. It was sent by Datuk Seri Najib Razak to Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low, who then forwarded it to the former prime minister’s relationship manager at AmBank.
Low ended the message by informing the banker that it was “from MNR, pls help asap?”
The mastermind of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal had apparently received the message from Najib after the latter’s credit cards were declined in a Chanel store in Hawaii.
It had happened as Najib attempted to swipe his credit card for a US$100,000 purchase in the store on Dec 23, 2014.
Najib’s then relationship manager at AmBank, Joanna Yu Ging Ping, said she immediately tried to sort out the problem after getting the message from Low.
She confirmed that “MNR” in the message referred to Mohd Najib Razak before reading out the full transcript of the conversation she had with Low.
Low: My platinum cards are not going through Jho. Can u call AmBank Visa and Mastercard right away? Thanks - from MNR pls help asap?
Yu: Aiyo..our stupid card system down. Will check
Low: Chk asap pls. He is chasing
Yu: Yep called them already. Asking card guys to look into it immediately
Low: Urgent. He is in Hawaii and wants to charge US$100k
Yu: System ok wor. They asked to try again. They are on standby to clear transaction
Low: It will work? They checked his card works?
Yu: They checked and it seems ok
Low: Sure?
Yu: From what they can see
Low: US$100k one transaction no problem?
Yu: No problem. His limit is RM3 million
Low: OK
The court then hears the transaction for US$130,625 is later charged to Najib’s Visa Platinum credit card.
Yu also reveals how she communicated with Low during Najib’s trip to Italy where the Pekan member of parliament had used his credit cards to purchase millions of ringgit worth of jewellery at the Swiss jeweller, De Grisogono.
Yu: Need to urgently verify 24 transactions in Italy amounting to RM3.3 million in his cards
Low: From PM - Great holiday here. All went well. Need to speak to Cheah to clear AmBank Visa for 1.2 million euro for u know what purchase. Can u do it immediately
Yu: Ok
Low: Let me know once you confirmed okay and informed AmBank
Yu: Just managed to contact them...cleared
Cheah referred to in the conversation was former AmBank managing director Cheah Tek Kuan, 72.
However, Yu also revealed that apart from the transactions which were cleared, 16 other transactions for more jewellery worth another RM2.64 million were declined as the cards had exceeded the limit.
Yu, who was the 54th witness to testify, revealed this during the course of her testimony in Najib’s trial involving the abuse of SRC International funds.
She earlier read out her witness statement as deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Budiman Lutfi Mohamed took her through a series of exhibits involving her dealings with Najib’s accounts from 2013 to 2015.
Yu said she first met Low in 2008 and started handling the 1MDB account from 2010.
She said it was Low who recommended Najib to open his personal accounts in AmBank.
However, she said, it ended as a nightmare for the bank because Najib’s current accounts were always overdrawn.
She said cheques amounting to millions of ringgit were issued even though there were insufficient funds in the accounts.
“I often had to chase Nik Faisal to bank in money to prevent the cheques from bouncing,” she said, referring to former SRC International Sdn Bhd managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil who was the mandate holder for Najib’s accounts.
Yu said she also contacted Low whenever Nik Faisal could not be reached.
Low, she said, always managed to sort out the problem by getting someone to bank in the money over the counter to make up for the shortfall in Najib’s accounts.
However, she said this posed a problem for the bank as such transactions had to be reported to Bank Negara.
She confirmed that a total of RM12.3 million cash was deposited over the counter between June 2014 and March 2015 to ensure that cheques issued by the prime minister did not bounce.
Asked by lead DPP Datuk V. Sithambaram why she had contacted Low when he was not a mandate holder of Najib’s accounts, she said the latter was Nik Faisal and also Najib’s friend.
Sithambaram: How would you describe Jho Low’s role in the accounts?
Yu: He may not have the mandate to give written instructions to the bank, but he is able to facilitate to get funds. There were instances I told him I could not get hold of Nik Faisal and the accounts were overdrawn. Then someone banks in the money or he gets hold of Nik Faisal.
Sithambaram: You mean he can solve your problems?
Yu: Yes
Sithambaram then gets Yu to confirm a Black Berry messenger chat she had with Low in May 2014 where the fugitive businessman asked her about a RM10 million cheque issued by Najib.
Yu: Account overdrawn again. Need to confirm RM10 million to Umno. Need to transfer again, funds very low already
Low: Okay pls transfer, what are the amounts in the three accounts, getting Nik to sign
Yu will continue with her testimony under cross examination tomorrow.
Najib, 66, is facing charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International funds.
He faces 20 years jail and fine for the offences.