Chocolate, big boss: code words used to conceal payments to Guan Eng, says witness

 

FMT:

Chocolate, big boss: code

words used to conceal

payments to Guan Eng,

says witness

Ho Kit Yen

-20 Sep 2024, 01:50 PM

Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli also claims the former Penang chief minister had agreed for businessman G Gnanaraja to be a ‘middleman’ in the transfer of cash.

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Key prosecution witness Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli said ‘chocolate’ referred to money that would be passed to Lim Guan Eng, while ‘big boss’ referred to Lim and former prime minister Najib Razak.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

The key prosecution witness in Lim Guan Eng’s undersea tunnel corruption trial told the sessions court here today he used code words in conversations with a fellow businessman when referring to payments to the former Penang chief minister.

Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli said that in his WhatsApp conversations with G Gnanaraja, he mentioned that 

chocolate

 will be handed to Lim, through Gnanaraja.

He affirmed that 

chocolate

 is the code word for money.

I was afraid to type it out (money, in the texts) because someone might screenshot it. (If there is a need) I would use WhatsApp to call Gnanaraja to speak about the cash payments,

 he said.

Zarul also told the court that some time in August 2017, Lim had agreed for Gnanaraja to be the 

middleman

 for the purpose of delivering cash.

I texted him (Gnanaraja) to inform that Lim had greenlit him as a middleman. He was actually anxious about it and called me to ask what happened during my meeting with Lim,

 he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin then asked Zarul why he told Gnanaraja 

good for us, sir

.

“I was able to hand over the money (to Lim) through Gnanaraja as a middleman in the future while Gnanaraja was happy that he could be friends with Lim.

(In 2017) I was under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s radar and it would be risky if I made payments directly (to Lim),

 Zarul said.

Wan Shaharuddin: You also mentioned ‘big boss’ in your Whatsapp messages, who is this big boss?

Zarul: Lim and (former prime minister) Najib (Razak).

Zarul said both Lim and Najib were important persons for him in the undersea tunnel project.

“I believed that Gnanaraja was the (former) prime minister’s friend, and I needed him (Najib) to ‘stabilise’ (alleviate) the pressure and (allay) criticisms on the undersea tunnel project.

(As) for Lim, without him I wouldn’t have got the project,

 he said.

Lim is standing trial, charged with using his position as then Penang chief minister to ask Zarul for a 10% cut of the profits from the undersea tunnel project and accepting RM3.3 million in kickbacks from the businessman.

He is also accused of two counts of dishonestly misappropriating RM208.7 million worth of state land.

The hearing before judge Azura Alwi continues on Oct 2.