Hasbie Satar, former political secretary to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court in Shah Alam today to 28 charges of money laundering involving depositing RM935,000 into the bank accounts of 11 individuals, including his family members.     

Wearing a grey suit, Hasbie, 39, made the plea after the charges were read out to him before Judge Aslam Zainuddin.

He allegedly committed the offences at several banks and Lembaga Tabung Haji premises in Salak Tinggi (Sepang), Bandar Baru Bangi and Putrajaya between Dec 4, 2008 and June 18, 2009.  

Hasbie faces a jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to RM5 million or both upon conviction under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.  

DPPs Anselm Charles Fernandis and Hazril Harun proposed bail at RM100,000 and applied for all 28 counts to be tried jointly.    

The prosecution also applied for the case to be transferred to the Butterworth Sessions Court in Penang as the accused faces another charge under the same Act there.   

They submitted that the 28 charges involved the same section of the Act and the two cases shared common witnesses.

Y Sheelan Samuagam, representing the accused, pleaded for a lesser sum of RM30,000 on the basis that the prosecution’s offer was too high and his client was facing a similar charge in Penang.

He added that Hasbie was fully cooperative throughout the investigation and never failed to attend court.

Aslam set bail at RM90,000 in one surety and fixed April 20 for remention.

He also allowed the 28 charges to be jointly tried but rejected the application to move the trial to the Butterworth Sessions Court.

On Feb 10 last year, Hasbie pleaded not guilty at the Butterworth Sessions Court to possessing RM2,134,656 from illegal activities and was freed on RM60,000 bail in two sureties.

- Bernama