Foundation Paid For Luxury Cars Owned By Zahid And Wife Court Told

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Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stepping out of his vehicle at the Kuala Lumpur court complex. (Bernama pic)KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told today that Yayasan Akalbudi did not own any luxury cars and motorcycles, although the foundation’s funds were used to pay the vehicles’ insurance policies.
Deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran said the vehicles’ owners were Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, his wife Hamidah Khamis, and former aide Juhari Janan.
She added that a sum of RM107,509.55 from Zahid’s foundation was used to pay for the vehicles’ insurance policies.
“The money trail on the vehicles’ insurance policies is intact and it has been confirmed that the sale and purchase was made using Yayasan Akalbudi’s cheques.
“None of them were registered under Yayasan Akalbudi,” Rozela said.
The court previously heard that Zahid and Hamidah owned more than 20 luxury cars and motorcycles, from Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Chrysler, Harley Davidson and Ducati.
Zahid is standing trial on 47 counts of money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister.
Twelve of the charges are for CBT, eight for corruption and the remaining 27 for money laundering.
Rozela said Zahid also owned five credit cards from Ambank and Maybank, and Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds were used to settle the payments.
A total of RM1.3 million was charged to Zahid’s credit cards between 2014 and 2016. The cards were used at various designer stores here and overseas.
“When we look at the cards’ statements, we can see the accused (Zahid) and his wife’s spending habits.
“This is not an issue in our case but one cannot help but wonder: when they went for a shopping spree in Armani, Louis Vuitton and Hermes, did they think about the people, especially the poor community in Bagan Datuk?” she added, referring to Zahid’s parliamentary constituency.
The hearing continues before trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Oct 14. - FMT

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