KUALA LUMPUR - The Sessions Court here on Thursday allowed the prosecution's application to try and hear together four charges of abusing position for RM232.5mil in bribes and three charges of money laundering involving RM200mil faced by Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Judge Azura Alwi made the decision after being satisfied with the prosecution's application to combine the cases.
She said the application met the criteria under Section 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which involves a series of acts in a transaction by the same individual.
"This also ensures justice for all parties, saves time, and avoids difficulties, especially for similar witnesses."
She stated that all charges clearly mention the accused, and the prosecution maintained that the law is firm as they need to prove each element of the charges involved.
She added that the court will decide whether each element in the charges has been proven against the accused.
Justice Azura also said there is no issue of confusion in presenting his defence, and the accused can still present any defence.
According to the four charges, the Pagoh MP is accused, as a public official, namely the Prime Minister of Malaysia and President of Bersatu, of using his position for a bribe of RM232.5mil from Azman Yusoff, 51, and three companies: Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd, and Mamfor Sdn Bhd, for the party's allies.
The offences are alleged to have been committed at the Prime Minister's Office, Perdana Putra Building, Federal Government Administrative Centre, between 1 March 2020 and 20 August 2021.
All charges are made under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same act.
This section provides for a prison sentence not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
For the other three charges, Muhyiddin, as the party's President, is accused of receiving proceeds from illegal activities, namely RM200mil from Bukhary Equity, which was deposited into CIMB Bank and AmBank accounts owned by Bersatu.
The offences are alleged to have been committed at CIMB Bank Menara Kuala Lumpur Branch, AmBank Amcorp Mall branch, Jalan Persiaran Barat, Petaling Jaya, between 25 February 2021 and 8 July 2022.
Both charges are made under Section 4(1)(b) read together with Section 87(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which can be punished under Section 4(1) of the same act.
This section carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the proceeds from illegal activities or the equipment of the offence at the time the offence was committed or RM5mil, whichever is higher, if convicted.
