Off to court: Wan Saiful walking towards the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday where he is standing trial for allegedly soliciting and accepting bribes amounting to over RM6.9mil. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: An officer of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) told the Sessions Court here that she was instructed to open a complaint against Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan regarding alleged bribery amounting to RM6.9mil from a company in relation to the Jana Wibawa project.
Khusyaini Adhillah Mat Aripin, 37, who previously served as MACC superintendent of investigation branch B, MACC investigation division, said she wrote the complaint on Jan 27, 2023, after receiving further information from the previous complaint investigation.
“On Jan 27, 2023, I received information that a continuation of the previous complaint investigation found that in 2022, Wan Saiful, as Bersatu’s head of information, had requested and received a bribe from Nepturis Sdn Bhd amounting to RM6.9mil in return for helping the company obtain the Central Spine Road project: Certificate to East Coast Highway Interchange worth RM232mil.
“Based on the information, I opened the MACC complaint form on the same day (Jan 27). I discussed with the head of investigation branch B, investigation division, MACC headquarters which is Assistant Commissioner Mazery Mod Zain to open a complaint,” she said, Bernama reported.
The first prosecution witness said this when reading her witness statement on the first day of the corruption and money laundering case trial involving the former Bersatu information chief.
To a question from lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad representing Wan Saiful, the witness, who is now working at the agency’s integrity management division, said she did not know who gave the instructions to file the complaint or the information about the complaint.
Amer Hamzah: You don’t know who gave the instructions and you don’t know all the information, so I suggest that the complaint is false and made with malicious intent.
Khusyaini Adhillah: Disagree.
Meanwhile, MACC assistant investigation officer Muhamad Syakir Zakaria, 35, said he had received instructions from Mazery to arrest Wan Saiful at 8pm, Feb 20, 2023, at MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
The second prosecution witness said that after explaining to Wan Saiful the reasons for his arrest, the Tasek Gelugor MP clearly understood and signed the notice under Section 53 (3) of the MACC Act.
Proceedings before judge Rozina Ayob continue today.
Wan Saiful, 47, is alleged to have solicited bribes from Lian Tan Chuan as an inducement for him to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd get the “Central Spine Road: Certify to East Coast Highway Interchange” project from the Malaysian government in pre-qualification, which was worth RM232mil.
He is also accused of accepting for himself cash amounting to RM6,962,694.54 through a CIMB Bank Berhad account belonging to his company, WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, from the Maybank Islamic Berhad account belonging to Nepturis Sdn Bhd as a reward for helping Nepturis obtain a Letter of Acceptance for the project.
The two acts were allegedly committed at Royal Lake Club, Taman Tasik Perdana, here, on April 2022, and at CIMB Bank Berhad Bukit Tunku Branch, Taman Tunku, Bukit Tunku, here, between July 8 and Sept 30, 2022.
Wan Saiful was also charged with 18 charges of money laundering involving RM5.59mil by transferring and using money from illegal activities to pay for the purchase of a Ford Ranger, payments to the Malaysian National Sports Council, and transferring the money to several company accounts, including Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd.
All the offences were allegedly committed at the CIMB Bank Berhad Bukit Tunku Branch here between Aug 12 and Nov 13, 2022, in accordance with Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
