KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has filed a lawsuit against AmBank Islamic Berhad and its former relation manager Joanna Yu Ging Ping for alleged mismanagement of the former’s bank accounts which are being scrutinised in the ongoing SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption hearing.
Najib, through Messrs Shafee & Co, had filed the suit yesterday at the High Court and named Ambank, AMMB Holdings Berhad and Yu as the defendants.
Najib in his statement of claim said AmBank and Yu had committed negligence when handling his bank accounts (ending 694, 880, 898, and 906) by disclosing it to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low.
“The defendants without authorised had disclosed defendant’s bank statements, debit and credit remittance transactions, and balances of funds of account 694 to Low as the third party.
“The defendants also did not engage with Najib directly to report on Low’s action regarding the said bank account.
“The bank also had facilitated unauthorised third party to make money transfers between accounts – 880, 898, and 906,” he said in a statement.
The former prime minister also claimed he had been kept in the dark on the details of his own bank accounts statements and other related documents by the bank under Low’s instruction.
“Low, with the help of other unauthorised third parties, had made 20 transactions to regularise the accounts totalling RM12 million through several local and foreign remittances of funds,” he said, adding that the accounts had been ‘red flagged’ by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
He said the defendants failed to report and get direct instructions from the plaintiff despite the accounts being red flagged.
“The plaintiff only discovered the act committed by the defendants only during the SRC trial after the prosecution had revealed the conversations between Yu and the third parties.”
The Pekan Member of Parliament is seeking for special, general, aggravated, and exemplary damages from the defendants without stating the specific amounts.
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.
On Nov 1, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ordered Najib to defence himself on all seven charges after the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case against him.