KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): A total of RM17.9 million from the coffers of Yayasan Akalbudi was taken out by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi without the approval of the charity's board of trustees, a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer told the High Court today. The officer, Muhammad Fazli Zulkifli, 36, who was in charge of investigating the criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges against Ahmad Zahid, said the former deputy prime minister had used part of the funds to purchase a stake in hotel management firm Ri-Yaz Asset Sdn Bhd. Fazli, who was on the witness stand last week, testified under oath that out of the RM17.9 million, Ahmad Zahid used RM8.6 million to pay the hotel management firm as a deposit for a share purchase, while the other RM9.3 million was put into fixed deposit accounts.