Saddiq Trial Rm263 700 From Bersatu Youth Disbursed To Charity

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The Kuala Lumpur High Court today heard from a prosecution witness in Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's trial that he received a total of RM650,000 in cash from the then Bersatu Youth treasurer in April 2020, of which RM263,700 had since been disbursed to charity.
Muhammad Daniel Kusari, who is Federal Territories Bersatu Youth information chief, said the cash was handed to him on April 1 by Rafiq Hakim, who wanted him to keep it as he had a safe at his house.
"Rafiq Hakim said: Dan, please keep this money, there is over RM600,000 here. This money belongs to our party, which I have withdrawn, and I want you to help me keep and disburse it for Covid assistance and youth welfare aid," Daniel testified in court.
He added later that he found out the total cash amount was RM650,000.
The witness was testifying in a criminal trial against Syed Saddiq, who is facing two charges of misappropriation involving RM1.12 million from Bersatu Youth. Syed Saddiq was also charged with two counts of abetting money laundering.
According to Daniel, several days after the cash was delivered to him, he started receiving a series of instructions from Rafiq on to who the monies should be disbursed.
In a list provided to the court, the witness said his own record showed that the cash was dispersed via cash deposits to several bank accounts and by cash to several individuals, including Rafiq himself.
Most of the time, Rafiq would say that the deposit was meant for welfare programmes or welfare assistance to the recipient, according to Daniel's testimony.
"The orders made by Rafiq through Whatsapp only stated the name of the recipient, the account number, and the amount of contribution.
"I had sent photos of cash deposit slip receipts to Rafiq to show him that I had done the transfers as ordered. I threw away the cash deposit receipts and deleted the Whatsapp messages after several days.
"This is what I usually do because I would delete the notifying messages after they are read by Rafiq.
"I confirm the printed out document titled Armada (Youth), total RM263,700. It is a printout of a list of cash distributions that I did base on orders I received from Rafiq," he said.
Daniel said he, however, did not write down all the account numbers given by Rafiq.
Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul RahmanMoney not for Covid assistance
During cross-examination by defence lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, Daniel agreed that he was chosen by Rafiq to keep the cash because he had a safe at home.
He also agreed with Gobind's suggestion that the RM263,700 that had been disbursed were all used for the welfare of Bersatu members and for Covid-19 assistance.
Gobind: So from your testimony, it is clear that all the cash distributed by you Daniel, was used for the purpose of helping the welfare of youth and Bersatu members, and for Covid-19 assistance?
Daniel: Yes, correct.
Gobind: There was not a single sen that was used for other purposes?
Daniel: Yes, correct.
According to the witness, the balance amount from the RM650,000 he received from Rafiq was seized by MACC. - Mkini

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