Shafee’s RM9.5m money laundering trial postponed to July 22 due to lockdown

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s money laundering trial involving RM9.5 million allegedly received from former premier Najib Abdul Razak will resume on July 22.

This followed on the heels of the vacating of proceedings before the Kuala Lumpur High Court today due to the ongoing total lockdown linked to the movement control order (MCO 3.0).

Previously on June 4, the trial was supposed to resume before judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin. However, that was postponed to today due to the commencement of the total lockdown earlier that week.

Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz confirmed that today’s proceedings were vacated due to the first phase of MCO 3.0.

“(Trial resumes from) July 22 to 23, based on existing dates (previously fixed by the court,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini this morning.

The last hearing was on May 28, when a Malay Mail senior correspondent confirmed that Shafee (above) issued a press statement regarding the RM9.5 million he allegedly received from Najib.

The prosecution is contending that Shafee gave inconsistent explanations on what the RM9.5 million was supposed to be, among them via the press statement where it was alleged the lawyer explained it was a loan.

On Sept 13, 2018, at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, Shafee claimed trial to four charges linked to the RM9.5 million allegedly received from Najib via two cheques.

The lawyer was charged with two counts of money laundering over the RM9.5 million which he was accused of receiving in two tranches, the first RM4.3 million on Sept 13, 2013, and the second payment of RM5.2 million on Feb 17, 2014.

Shafee was also charged with two counts of involvement in transactions of proceeds from unlawful activity, by making inaccurate statements in relation to the payments on March 3 and June 29, 2015.

The 69-year-old lawyer was alleged to have deposited the two cheques into his personal account at a CIMB Bank branch in Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur.

For the first two charges, Shafee was charged under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLA) 2001.

The other two charges are framed under Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967.

The case was later transferred to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, whereby the second day of trial was on May 28. The trial began on May 21 this year.

Najib, meanwhile, is currently facing numerous separate criminal trials, among them the RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption case. His counsel is Shafee. - Mkini

✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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