KUALA LUMPUR: A Maybank officer told the sessions court today that Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) transferred a total of RM20.3 million to Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd in 2018.
Shamsiah Musa, 55, an assistant manager at Maybank’s Jalan Tun Razak branch, said bank records showed that PNB transferred RM20,318,510 in two tranches to Fashion Valet’s Public Bank account on June 4 and Dec 20 that year.
Testifying in the RM8 million criminal breach of trust (CBT) trial of Fashion Valet founders Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzarudin Shah Anuar, Shamsiah said PNB first transferred RM11,953,509 on June 4 through an over-the-counter transaction that required authorisation from an authorised signatory.
On Dec 20, PNB transferred a further RM8,365,001 via online banking.
Shamsiah, the second prosecution witness, also identified 22 individuals who were authorised signatories for PNB at the time.
She said the authorised signatories were divided into three groups – A, B and C – and that the list changed from time to time.
However, she did not specify which group authorised the transfers to Fashion Valet.
During cross-examination, Shamsiah agreed with defence counsel M Athimulan that once the money was credited into Fashion Valet’s account, it became part of the company’s cash balance and working capital.
Athimulan: When the PNB funds were credited to Fashion Valet, they became part of the company’s cash balance and working capital. Do you agree?
Shamsiah: I agree.
Athimulan: Maybank never received any notice preventing Fashion Valet from transferring or using the funds for business operations, payments to suppliers or corporate advances?
Shamsiah: I agree.
Athimulan: From Maybank’s perspective, Fashion Valet had full access to the account through its authorised signatories?
Shamsiah: That is right.
Shamsiah also confirmed that PNB never instructed Maybank to freeze the funds or restrict Fashion Valet’s access to them. She further agreed that she did not know the terms governing the investment between PNB and Fashion Valet.
During re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Noor Syazwani Sobry, Shamsiah clarified that her earlier answer on Fashion Valet having full access to the funds referred only to the bank account, as Maybank received no instructions from any party prohibiting the company’s authorised signatories from accessing the account.
The court previously heard that Fashion Valet transferred RM8 million to 30 Maple Sdn Bhd on Aug 21, 2018, with Vivy and Fadzarudin acting as authorised signatories for both companies.
Vivy and Fadzarudin, both 38, were jointly charged on Dec 5, 2024, with committing CBT involving investment funds from Khazanah Nasional Bhd and PNB in their capacity as directors of Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd.
They are accused of committing CBT by authorising a payment of RM8 million from Fashion Valet’s corporate bank account to 30 Maple Sdn Bhd without approval from the company’s board of directors.
They allegedly committed the offence at the Bukit Damansara branch of Public Bank on Aug 21, 2018.
The charge was framed under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
They also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of dishonest misappropriation of property belonging to Fashion Valet, namely RM8 million in Khazanah and PNB investment funds, at the same location and on the same date.
The charge under Section 403 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between six months and five years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
The trial before judge Rosli Ahmad continues on Aug 17.
