Three individuals related to the MEX II highway concessionaires pleaded not guilty today to a total of 35 charges between them, including money laundering, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and forgery involving hundreds of millions of ringgit.

Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd director Abu Sahid Mohamed was charged with four counts of CBT under Section 409 of the Penal Code involving RM313 million.

He faces 13 other charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUA) involving RM139 million.

His wife, Noor Azrina Azmi, was charged under the same Act with receiving RM67 million in funds from illegal proceeds.

The third person hauled to court was former MEX II Sdn Bhd director Yap Wee Leong, who was slapped with 17 charges of forgery under Section 471 of the Penal Code to file false claims worth RM314.5 million related to the MEX II highway project’s progress.

Their prosecution was handled before two Sessions Courts, where Abu Sahid (above) claimed trial before Suzanna Hussin, while Azrina and Yap were before Rosli Ahmad.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib led all three prosecutions today while lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik represented the accused.

The judges ordered a RM1.5 million bail on Abu Sahid, RM1 million on Yap, and RM500,000 on Azrina.

They also ordered all the accused to surrender their passports and fixed Nov 3 for the case mention.

The detailed charges

For Abu Sahid’s CBT charges, he was accused of using his position as the Maju Holdings’ director to dishonestly use the company’s funds amounting to RM313 million on four separate occasions.

He was alleged to have committed the crime at CIMB Bank Berhad, Bukit Tunku branch on May 3 and Nov 22, 2016, Jan 20 and Nov 27, 2017, Jan 8 and Nov 30, 2018, and Oct 21, 2019.

Under Section 409, he faces a punishment of up to 20 years’ jail, caning, and a fine.

For the money laundering charges, he was alleged to have moved RM139 million out of his personal CIMB accounts into the accounts of five individuals and five companies, as well as cashing the funds via 15 cheques.

Abu Sahid was alleged to have done so on 19 separate occasions between May 4, 2016 and Oct 20, 2019, in which he is liable to a maximum 15 years’ jail and a fine of at least five times the value of the proceeds or RM5 million, whichever is higher.

In Azrina’s case, the 48-year-old was alleged to have received the RM67 million from her husband’s CIMB accounts on March 6 and Nov 27, 2017, at the same CIMB branch.

As for Yap, the 68-year-old is accused of using 13 false documents as progress claims to Maju Holdings for MEX II highway works on 19 separate occasions between June 2017 and April 2018. He faces a maximum of two years imprisonment, a fine, or both.

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