Liquidator for SRC BVI Angela Barkhouse is the second witness to testify in SRC International’s US$1.18 billion civil suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

A liquidator for SRC BVI, Angela Barkhouse, is the second witness to testify in SRC International’s US$1.18 billion civil suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): A liquidator for SRC BVI, a subsidiary of SRC International Sdn Bhd, told the High Court on Tuesday that she cannot confirm which of the possible SRC International or SRC BVI directors have dealt with international banks to make the questionable transfer of the fiduciary funds that were not used for their intended purpose.

Angela Barkhouse — the second witness to testify in SRC International’s US$1.18 billion civil suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was the company’s adviser emeritus — agreed with Najib’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh that she was not aware of the persons involved, who might have met the foreign bank officers leading to the transfer of fiduciary funds.

“However, the signatories of the bank documents should be held responsible,” she said during the online proceedings as she testified from the Cayman Islands.

Harvinderjit was asking Barkhouse whether she knew who actually dealt with the banks that led to the transfer of funds, as their identity is up in the air and suggested that she did not know whether fugitive Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, had directed it, to which the Briton agreed.

Barkhouse said she had based her testimony on bank documents that were given to her mainly from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Although she said those who signed the documents should be held responsible, Harvinderjit noted there were conflicts as their signatures appeared to be a reproduction. Barkhouse then said she could not comment on this as she is not a handwriting expert.

“I don’t have enough evidence to give conclusive answers, as what I have is the court documents given to me,” she said.

The witness agreed with Harvinderjit that she cannot confirm how these transactions took place.

Layering done to hide laundering of money

Barkhouse was asked about the layering process of the payments made by SRC International, which transferred the funds to SRC BVI, and a huge sum made its way to other accounts.

On Monday, she told the court that the bulk of the RM4 billion loan given by Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC International in 2011 and 2012 was diverted from Bank Negara Malaysia’s approved use of the funds for investment in the energy or natural resource industries.

Barkhouse said US$864.4 million of the US$1.18 billion was transferred to, among others, Cistenique Investment Fund BV (US$357.5 million) between April 17, 2012 and April 3, 2014, while US$481 million was transferred to Enterprise Emerging Market Funds BV between Dec 23, 2011 and July 2 2012, and US$12.19 million to Pacific Rim Global Growth Ltd on Dec 20, 2013.

“None of the payments made to Cistenique, Enterprise Emerging Funds, or Pacific Rim were made in furtherance of investment in the energy and resources sector. They were in fact vehicles used to obfuscate the movement of funds misappropriated from SRC International," she said.

The liquidator testified that there were at least three layering processes to hide the origin of the money from SRC International and that US$120 million made its way to the account of the former prime minister.

SRC International is suing Najib for fraud, breach of fiduciary duties and breach of trust, conspiracy, tort of misfeasance in public office, conversion, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt of assets belonging to SRC International in the US$1.18 billion civil action.

In November 2021, SRC International obtained a judgement in default against former SRC International managing director and ex-chief executive officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who was also named as a defendant in the suit.

Najib had pulled in several former SRC International directors, namely Datuk Suboh Md Yassin, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, Datuk Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as third party respondents.

Initially, all of them were named as defendants in the suit.

Witness says she is trying to trace more funds

Barkhouse also told the court that despite being appointed as SRC BVI liquidator since 2021, she had yet to fully trace three other funds that might have originated from SRC International.

They were the payments made by SRC BVI to Cistenique to Affinity Equity International Partners Ltd for US$14.9 million, where US$10.75 million made its way to Platinum Global Luxury Services Ltd BVI.

“I have not been able to further trace the funds paid to Platinum Global at this stage,” she said, adding Platinum Global is a company owned by Jho Low’s associate Eric Tan Kim Loong.

She also testified that in the third layer, she detected payments totalling US$150 million made by Cistenique to Prime Choice Company, a company majority owned by Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Bander bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Prince Faisal), and the remainder US$150 million was transferred on June 18, 2012 to Triangle Commodities, a company in Saudi Arabia that is majority owned by Prince Faisal and Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Majed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

“I have so far not taken any steps to trace further the funds paid to Prime Choice and Triangle Commodities, as I believe they are being pursued by the Malaysian authorities,” she added.

Barkhouse also said there were illegal transfers made by the joint venture company of Aabar-SRC Strategic Resources BVI, where a portion of the money, US$4.9 million, made its way to Globalink Private Aviation Ltd BVI, which in turn had US$2.9 million transferred to Blackstone Asia Real Estate BVI on Dec 21, 2011.

Following the US$2.9 million transfer to Blackstone, she said the company distributed US$250,000 to Chee Suwen, US$750,000 to AK Worldwide Ltd, US$300,000 to Hubbards Ltd, US$850,000 to California Clearing, and US$350,000 to Alsen Chance Holdings Ltd BVI.

“I am currently unable to determine the reasons behind these payments or trace them any further,” she said.

The trial before judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin continues on Wednesday.