CHC Trial

The dual purpose of the Xtron and Firna bonds, which the prosecution has charged are not genuine investments, were in line with what the church was told by the COC, defense lawyer Edwin Tong seeks to show.

Defense lawyer produces evidence to show that there was no cover-up – auditors were very much alive to the issues and concerns surrounding the Crossover Project and the Xtron bonds.

9 September 2014 – Summary of Day 22 of CHC hearing.

The prosecution sought to show that Wahju Hanafi’s personal guarantee “did not exist”. Kong Hee reiterated that Hanafi had in fact made good on his promise and the church had suffered no loss.

Kong Hee explains the circumstances behind Wahju Hanafi’s eventual fulfillment of his pledge to underwrite the Crossover Project.

All the action taken in 2010 to clear all the Xtron and Firna bond transactions were to protect church members and to prevent distraction from the church’s move into its new premises at Suntec Singapore, said Kong Hee this morning.

This afternoon, Kong Hee explained how it was necessary for him and his team to instruct Firna director Wahju Hanafi on the drawdown of Firna bond proceeds.

As long as everything was within legal boundaries, and as long as he wasn’t legally obligated to reveal details and relationships, Kong Hee preferred to keep disclosure to a minimum, at times to protect the mission of the Crossover.

In this morning’s short session, Kong explained that there was nothing wrong in using drawdowns to repay loans as, ultimately, the sales of the album would have covered the bond principal and interest.