KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 2): At the end of the prosecution case in the graft trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi concerning Yayasan Akalbudi money, both the prosecution and defense have submitted over 1,200 pages of written remarks to the High Court here, which will be heard on Aug 5. The prosecution team, led by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran, presented over 200 pages of written arguments, while the defense team, led by lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, submitted approximately 1,000 pages.
According to Raja Rozela, the final submissions in the prosecution case were supposed to be heard this week, but were postponed to August 5 due to the execution of Phase One of the National Recovery Plan’s Movement Control Order (PPN).
“The deadlines for submissions are August 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 24, 2021. In mid-June, we submitted over 200 pages of written contributions “When contacted via WhatsApp, she stated.
Hisham verified the submission date, stating that his team had submitted a 1,000-page written statement to the court on June 15.
Ahmad Zahid, 68, had pleaded not guilty to 12 CBT offences, eight bribery charges, and 27 money laundering charges involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi at the Sessions Court here.
The High Court granted Ahmad Zahid’s application to move his case from the Sessions Court to the High Court on February 21, 2019, after the prosecution did not oppose.
Ahmad Zahid was accused of using the cash to pay for his personal credit cards, an insurance policy and a license for his personal vehicles, remittances to a law company, and contributions to the Royal Malaysia Police Football Association, according to the CBT allegations.
Between January 13, 2014, and December 23, 2016, the alleged crimes were conducted at the Affin Bank Berhad branch in Jalan Bunus, off Jalan Masjid India, here. On conviction, the charge under Section 409 of the Penal Code carries a sentence of two to twenty years in prison, as well as the possibility of whipping and a fine.
Ahmad Zahid was also charged with eight counts of bribery, alleging that he accepted bribes from three companies, namely Mastoro Kenny IT Consultant & Services, Data Sonic Group Bhd, and Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd, in exchange for him assisting the companies in obtaining MyEG projects, supplying passport chips, and being appointed the operator of the migrant train.
Between July 15, 2016, and March 15, 2018, he was charged with violating Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 at the Maybank branch in Dataran Maybank in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar.
Between March 29, 2016, and April 11, 2018, the Bagan Datuk Member of Parliament was charged with 27 counts of money laundering for engaging in direct transactions involving profits from illicit operations.
All of the crimes were reportedly perpetrated between March 29 2016 and April 11 2018 at Malayan Banking Berhad, Dataran Maybank branch, Level 1, Tower A, No 1 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, and Marhaba Enterprise Sdn Bhd, LG 1.15, Fahrenheit88, 179 Jalan Bukit Bintang, near here.
At the Shah Alam Sessions Court, Ahmad Zahid was also charged with accepting payments from a corporation in connection with the overseas visa system, bringing his total counts against him to 87./n
