Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur March 8, 2021. — Picture by Firdaus LatifKUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Yayasan Akalbudi’s investment purchase of stakes in hotel management firm Ri-Yaz Asset Sdn Bhd was made without the knowledge of its board of trustees, the High Court heard today in the corruption trial of former minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
In his testimony last week, Fazli used a flow chart to explain how the RM17.9 million ended up as fixed deposits for the deal hotel asset purchase based on his investigations in 2018. Of the RM17.9 million that was in Lewis & Co’s account by June 2016, nearly half or RM9,350,265.21 to be exact, was placed as fixed deposits on July 13, 2016.
But before the second transaction of roughly RM8.6 million became fixed deposits, the money was transferred from the law firm to Ri-Yaz Assets Sdn Bhd as a “deposit” for a share purchase deal that was later aborted.