Businessman Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail has denied in court that he had planned to cheat National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail.

Shamsubahrin, 48, told the Sessions Court here yesterday that he was not in a desperate position by trying to cheat Mohamad Salleh as he was earning more than RM10,000 a day through his taxi service business.

"I never tried to cheat Mohamad Salleh as I was not desperate at that time," he said when questioned by his counsel, Hasnal Redzua Merican, in his defence against five charges of cheating Mohamad Salleh involving a sum of RM1.75 million and 17 charges for his involvement in money laundering.

He had allegedly cheated Mohamad Salleh by promising him advisory and consultancy services by claiming that he had been asked by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to assist Mohamad Salleh and offered the consultancy services for RM2.75 million, which prompted Mohamad Salleh to agree to pay him for the services.

Questioned by Hasnal Redzua why Shamsubahrin's two bank accounts had balances of only RM2.31 and RM7.22 respectively if he was not desperate at the time, Shamsubahrin said his money (income from his taxi service business) was deposited into the company's account.

Meanwhile, cattle supplier Marthinus Johannes du Plessis, 62, said he had never met Mohamad Salleh and he did not even know who Mohamad Salleh was in NFCorp.

"I only heard Mohamad Salleh's name from Shamsubahrin and had never met him in person," he said. Marthinus, from South Africa, said until 2010, he had not spoken to any other NFCorp staff.

The hearing before judge Rozilah Salleh continues on Aug 7.