SHAH ALAM: After being levelled with multiple charges of graft and money laundering last week, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin faced one more charge yesterday.
The 75-year-old Bersatu president and Pagoh MP was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Illegal Activities Act 2001, which was read together with Section 87 (1) of the same Act at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.
Dressed in a dark suit minus a tie, Muhyiddin arrived at court with his wife, Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman, and pleaded not guilty.
“I understand the charge and I plead not guilty,’’ he told the court after the charge was read out before Judge Rozilah Salleh.
According to the charge sheet, Muhyiddin had allegedly, in his capacity as Bersatu president, illegally received RM5mil from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd at an AmBank branch located at Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya; the money was deposited into a Bersatu AmBank account there on Jan 7 last year.
If found guilty, the former Umno stalwart and current Perikatan Nasional chairman faces a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount mentioned in the charge.
During the proceedings, the prosecution also applied for the case to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court so that it can be heard in tandem with the six other charges that had been brought against Muhyiddin on March 11.
Surrounded: Muhyiddin speaking to reporters as he leaves the Shah Alam Court as his wife Norainee looks on. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said this would facilitate the case to be mentioned on May 26, together with the six other charges.
He also told the court that the prosecution was agreeable that no bail be imposed for yesterday’s case and applied for the bail set by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court last week to also cover the Shah Alam court case. The KL court had set bail at RM2mil with two sureties and also ordered Muhyiddin to surrender his passport.
Rozilah agreed to the prosecution’s application to transfer the case to KL and apply the bail set there for yesterday’s case.
Last week, Muhyiddin was charged with four counts of abuse of power involving RM232.5mil and two counts of money laundering involving RM195mil.
The charges were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Illegal Activities Act 2001.
Muhyiddin claimed trial to all six charges; he now faces seven charges in total.
Besides Ahmad Akram, others in the prosecution team were Mohd Fadhly Mohd Zamry, Zander Lim Wai Keong, Kali Vani Annadorai and Maziah Mohaide.
Muhyiddin’s defence team comprised Datuk K. Kumaraendran, Chetan Jethwani, Dev Kumaraendran, Amiratu Al-Amirat Saleh, Mohd Isa Mohamad Basir, Shahir Ab Razak, Teh See Khoon, Varsha Chelvi and Raja Syuhada Raja Khairuddin.
