Wan Saiful to face fresh criminal charges under Amla tomorrow

Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan tomorrow will be facing criminal charges under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla).

In a Facebook post this afternoon, the former Bersatu information chief said that he just received a summons to attend the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex at Jalan Duta tomorrow morning.

"It is said that the new charges would be under Amla. The details of the charges are not clear yet at present.

"I will be present tomorrow to defend myself and I have faith in the courts being the best place for me to get justice," Wan Saiful (above) said.

Previously at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, he claimed trial to two graft charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.

When charged before the lower court on Feb 21, Wan Saiful claimed trial to two counts - first, for allegedly soliciting a bribe of an unspecified amount and second, for allegedly receiving a bribe of RM6.96 million between July 8 and Sept 30, 2022.

The PN lawmaker was accused of soliciting the bribe from one Lian Tan Chuan.

The alleged bribe was purportedly to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd secure the “Central Spine Road: Sertik Ke Persimpangan Lebuhraya Pantai Timur” project from the federal government through pre-qualification.

The project was supposed to be valued at RM232 million.

The second charge accused Wan Saiful of receiving, through his company WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd, the RM6.96 million from Nepturis as an inducement to help the latter secure a letter of award for the same project.

He faces imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine not less than five times the value of the inducement.

The criminal court set bail at RM400,000 and ordered Wan Saiful’s passport to be confiscated, pending disposal of the case. The matter is set for full trial for eight days next year: March 25-27, April 29-30, and May 20-22, 2024.

Jana Wibawa, an acronym for “Program Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa”, was a Covid-19 stimulus programme for bumiputera contractors.

The Muhyiddin Yassin administration introduced it in November 2020.

In July this year, Parliament was told that the current Anwar Ibrahim-helmed administration had frozen Jana Wibawa projects worth RM5.7 billion, pending investigations.

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