THE defence team for former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will challenge the validity of the charge against him for allegedly failing to declare assets, including millions of ringgit in cash and five gold bars.
Defence lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad said the team had identified legal issues in the charge and would raise them in an application to be filed before the next case mention.
“For now, based on the charge, there are legal issues that we will raise and, of course, we will challenge the propriety and validity of the charge,” he told reporters after proceedings at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur today.
Amer declined to provide further details on the legal challenge.
Earlier, before Sessions Court judge Suzana Hussin, he sought the remaining documents from the prosecution to enable the defence to study the material and determine the appropriate application to file.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ifa Sirrhu Samsudin told the court that the prosecution had handed over five volumes of documents to the defence this morning.
The documents included seized materials and records containing assets previously declared by Ismail Sabri.
The judge directed the prosecution to provide the remaining documents to the defence before the next case mention, which was fixed for Dec 4.
“The DPP takes note that the documents are to be handed over to the defence before the date I have fixed. The court fixes Dec 4 for the next mention,” Suzana said.
Ismail Sabri, 66, pleaded not guilty on Aug 27 to a charge under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 for allegedly failing to comply with a notice requiring him to declare specified assets.
The charge involves cash in various currencies, including Singapore dollars, Swiss francs, euros, Japanese yen, British pounds, New Zealand dollars, UAE dirhams and Australian dollars, as well as five gold bars.
The prosecution alleges the total cash involved amounted to about RM14.7 million based on the Malaysian ringgit values stated in the charge.
The alleged offence was committed at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Putrajaya on Feb 7, 2025, according to the charge.
If convicted under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act, Ismail Sabri faces a maximum five-year jail term and a fine of up to RM100,000. - September 29, 2026
