KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): Lawyer Ashraf Abdul Razak, who was formerly a partner in Zulqarnain & Co, told the High Court here that he received RM2.5 million for his client Datuk Habibul Rahman Kadir Shah, who is a well-known corporate figure.

Ashraf, 48, said his former law firm, Zulqarnain & Co received the cheque for RM2.5 million from former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"Habibul informed me that he will receive payment for negotiation services for a defence supply contract. He did not tell me where the payment is from," said Ashraf, the 18th prosecution witness, while he was examined by deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi.

The witness said he was a partner at Zulqarnain & Co from 1996 to 2017, and has been working with Habibul for 12 years.

Habibul is a shareholder in Fuelsubs House Sdn Bhd, which tendered to manage the fuel subsidy.

"Habibul informed that there is a payment, and he requested me to receive the payment for the defence contract as part of payment from him to me.

"There is a small acknowledgement letter between himself and myself on the payment through the cheque, which was signed by him [Habibul]," the witness said.

Ashraf said he deposited the cheque the next working day.

The witness said when he worked with Habibul, the corporate figure wanted the matter to proceed smoothly and quickly, and that he awaited his client's instruction on the payment to be made, which included his lawyer fees.

Saifuddin: How much was the fee?

Ashraf: RM50,000, sir.

Habibul, the witness said, then instructed Ashraf to issue cheques to, among others, Habibul's wife and his kids.

"And in stages after that, he told me to issue cheques to parties he determined, as well as cash cheques," Ashraf added.

Saifuddin: Do you know why he did not issue the cheque into his own account and told you to manage this [fund]?

Ashraf: Sorry I do not know.

Saifuddin: You managed the whole RM2.5 million?

Ashraf: Yes sir.

The lawyer said he did not ask where the money for the cheque came from nor the legitimacy of the money, as he had known Habibul for a long time, and also due to his position as a corporate leader.

The 18th witness added that to hasten the overall payment process, some of the money was transferred into his personal account, where he distributed the funds via telegraphic transfer to the accounts of Habibul and his aide, known only as Azmi.

When cross-examined by Najib's co-counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Ashraf admitted to being called by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and had his statement recorded regarding the cheque.

Ashraf admitted in court that he is a friend of Habibul, and still keeps in contact with him.

The witness added that he had received funds from Habibul about 10 times between 2013 and 2015, but the amounts were much less than the cheque his former firm had received from Najib.

Besides the lawyer, two other bankers namely CIMB's Edward Innasi and Affin Bank's Rosaiah Mohamed Rosli also testified today.

Innasi testified about the RM2.5 million cheque which had been cashed while Rosaiah told the court that Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, which holds an account in Affin Bank, received RM50 million on Dec 24, 2014 and Feb 6, 2015.