I Challenged My Dismissal In Industrial Court Ex Bank Manager Tells 1mdb Trial

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Former AmBank manager Joanna Yu says the bank was uncomfortable handling Najib Razak’s bank accounts because of the large sums involved.KUALA LUMPUR: A former banker told the High Court hearing Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial that a suit taken out against her former employer, Ambank, over her dismissal was settled.
Joanna Yu, who was the relationship manager, was sacked by the bank in 2015.
However, she testified last week she did not know whether the termination was linked to her handling Najib’s accounts.
“We are not allowed to talk about (my) termination,” she said, adding that the terms of settlement are confidential and cannot be disclosed.
Under cross-examination, defence counsel Shafee Abdullah asked Yu whether she was accused of taking instructions from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low.
Shafee also asked whether it was true Yu had been “caught red-handed” because of her BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) chats with Low.
“Besides that, the bank also said you broke Bafia (the Banking and Financial Institutions Act) on secrecy,” he said.
In response, Yu said she objected to the charges and eventually took her case to the Industrial Court.
She also told the court her then supervisor and managing director, Ashok Ramamurthy, was uncomfortable with the bank handling the former prime minister’s accounts.
According to Yu, Ashok told her: “Let’s try to close them (accounts).”
She said she communicated the bank’s position to Low, and despite his initial reluctance, he eventually agreed to the suggestion.
Asked why Ashok felt uncomfortable, she said: “The accounts were overdrawn (on several occasions) and (involved) large sums.”
The court previously heard that Najib held five accounts with AmBank between 2011 and 2015.
A savings account ending with “481” and a current account ending with “694” were opened on Jan 13, 2011. They were closed on Aug 26, 2013.
Three other accounts – ending with “880”, “906” and “898” – were later opened on July 31, 2013, and closed on March 9, 2015.
The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Feb 7. - FMT

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