Witness: I was tasked with delivering RM2mil bribe to Guan Eng

New Straits Times

6 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: A key witness in Lim Guan Eng's corruption trial left the courtroom on edge today as he described how he was appointed to deliver millions in bribes to the former Penang chief minister eight years ago.
Businessman G. Gnanaraja said the bribe was linked to the Penang Undersea Tunnel project, where he was appointed by Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli to act as a middleman to deliver the money to Lim.
CZCSB was the company awarded the RM6.34 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.
The DAP chairman who sat in the accused dock was calm while listening to Gnanaraja's testimony before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi.
Gnanaraja said that between Aug 10 and 19, 2017, he and Zarul had multiple discussions about appointing him as the intermediary to deliver bribes to Lim.
He said Zarul chose him based on trust and because he was not affiliated with any opposition parties at the time.
Gnanaraja also revealed that he had used his company, Bumi Muhibah Holding Sdn Bhd, as the vehicle to channel bribe payments to Lim, as he was the sole person authorised to withdraw money from its bank account.
"All the requests to set up the company and its account were made while I was with Lim in a car on the way to Publika on Aug 20, 2017.
"Lim had personally viewed the company's Form 49 during a visit to my house on Aug 29, the same year.
"He wanted to see the document to gain personal confidence in the company's management and the preparation of its documents.
"Form 49 contained details of the company's directors, managers, and secretary," he said.
Meanwhile, Gnanaraja said on Aug 18, 2017, he received RM2 million in cash from Zarul near Eastin Hotel in Petaling Jaya for the purpose of delivering it to Lim.
"When I reached the hotel lobby, my driver parked my Bentley in front of Zarul's grey Mercedes S300.
"Zarul, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, then stepped out of his car, retrieved two dark-coloured bags with hand straps, and placed them directly into the boot of my car.
"I knew the bags contained cash because as he placed the first bag, he said '1M,' and repeated the same as he placed the second. By '1M,' I understood that he meant RM1 million.
"When I arrived home, I transferred both bags into my office room. I saw that the bags contained bundles of RM100 cash notes in large quantities.
"I did not count the bundles in either of the two bags," he said.
However, the trial was cut short after Gnanaraja began coughing severely and said he was feeling unwell.
On June 24, 2022, Zarul, when testifying as witness, admitted that he gave Lim RM2 million in cash after his company was awarded the three paired roads and undersea tunnel project by the Penang government.
On the delivery of RM2 million to Lim, Zarul said he contacted Gnanaraja and told him that he wanted to give some "chocolates" to "big boss" on Aug 17, 2017.
He said apart from the RM2 million cash, he also paid Lim a total of RM300,000 in three stages and RM500,000 twice as part of the 10 per cent cut from the profit of the project.
Lim is facing four charges of using his position as the then Penang chief minister to solicit gratification to help Zarul's company secure the undersea tunnel project.
He was alleged to have sought 10 per cent of the profit to be made by the company from Zarul.
He was also accused of receiving RM3.3 million for himself and causing two plots of land belonging to the state government to be disposed of to two companies linked to the undersea tunnel project.
The trial is set to resume on Aug 19.