KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — Former home minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said he had not committed criminal breach of trust (CBT) when he gave RM1.3 million of Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds as a cash advance to the police’s football association.

Ahmad Zahid argued that this was because his advancing of such funds to the police’s football association was in line with the charitable fund Yayasan Akalbudi’s aims of helping the needy.

Testifying in his own defence in his trial of having allegedly committed criminal breach of trust over RM31 million of Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds which he was entrusted with, Ahmad Zahid sought to justify the channelling of the welfare organisation’s money to the Royal Malaysia Police’s (PDRM) football association in 2015.

Ahmad Zahid explained that he had never given any contributions to the PDRM football association previously, but noted that the police force came under his overview when he was home minister and that he then knew that the football association itself pays for the monthly salaries and allowances of its players and staff.

Ahmad Zahid said his son-in-law Datuk Zul Hisham Zainal had told him that this football association was in a financially needy situation as four months of outstanding salaries had resulted in the football players and staff being unable to pay for their personal expenses such as house rent, car, and other needs.

Ahmad Zahid said he had also been told that the association’s players who rely fully on income received as full-time football players, and that he also believed the welfare of these players’ families would be affected as their salaries had not been paid for four months.

Ahmad Zahid said the total wages of the players and staff of the football association was on average about RM500,000 to RM600,000 per month, and that the outstanding salary for four months came to around RM1.3 million.

(Previously, Zul Hisham told the court that an estimated RM500,000 to RM600,000 was needed each month to pay the 30 football players and 15 management personnel of the PDRM football association).

“Therefore, I had advanced RM1.3 million to the PDRM football association to help them cover those needs and welfare,” Ahmad Zahid told the High Court today.

Ahmad Zahid verified a Yayasan Akalbudi cheque dated November 19, 2015 for RM1.3 million issued to PDRM’s football association.

“I believe that this cash advance is in line with the objectives of Yayasan Akalbudi’s formation, where this Yayasan was established generally to help in terms of welfare to those who need it,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said that two other trustees of Yayasan Akalbudi — Muhammad Nabil Salleh and Datuk Khairuddin Tarmizi — had also known about this matter, saying: “I stress that both of them had never objected to this advance as it is in line with Yayasan’s objective.” Ahmad Zahid cited his son-in-law Zul Hisham’s previous testimony in this trial as the 19th prosecution witness, who was said to have said that the National Sports Council had repaid the cash advance when it gave a RM1 million cheque to the law firm Lewis & Co on July 14, 2017.

Zul Hisham had previously agreed that the remaining RM300,000 of funds given to the PDRM football association was a form of contribution to the needy.

In this trial, Ahmad Zahid – who is also a former deputy prime minister minister and currently the Umno president – is facing 47 charges, namely 12 counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, 27 counts of money laundering, and eight counts of bribery charges.

For the 12 CBT charges, Ahmad Zahid is accused of having misappropriated more than RM31 million of Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, of which he was entrusted with as the foundation’s trustee and with him also later being the sole signatory for its cheques.

The 12 CBT charges relate to the use of Yayasan Akalbudi funds, namely RM1.3 million via 43 cheques for Ahmad Zahid and his wife’s credit card bills, RM107,509.55 via three cheques for vehicle insurance and road tax for 20 privately-owned vehicles, a RM1.3 million cheque to the police’s football association, a RM10 million cheque for a loan to Armada Holdings Sdn Bhd, RM360,000 via two cheques to political consultancy firm TS Consultancy & Resources, and over RM17.9 million of funds transferred from Yayasan Akalbudi to law firm Lewis & Co.

Ahmad Zahid’s trial before High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow.

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