KUALA LUMPUR – Former Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who has been slapped with bribery and money-laundering charges, may not be off the hook just yet, with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission saying the Court of Appeal has yet to decide the matter.
“MACC emphasises that this is an argument that has yet to be decided by the court,” said the anti-graft agency in a statement responding to one issued by Azeez’s lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad yesterday.
Amer said a financial report analysis filed by MACC absolves his client of the corruption charges.
MACC said Azeez was charged with 13 counts of graft at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, and on March 12, the high court rejected his application to strike out the said charges.
“An appeal was filed against the high court decision, and was heard by the Court of Appeal yesterday.
“Following this, the media quoted Amer’s statement that painted the impression that Azeez is free from all corruption and money-laundering charges, when the court has yet to decide the case.”
Azeez has acknowledged the confusion, and referred to a Bernama report that he said provides a clearer picture.
“I am sharing this to explain the confusion regarding the legal process involving accusations against me,” said the Baling MP on Facebook.
In the news article, Amer was quoted as saying the financial report analysis by MACC found that Azeez was indeed a salaried employee of Syarikat Menuju Asas Sdn Bhd.
Since MACC did not challenge the report, he said, it accepts that Azeez was indeed a staffer of the company, and based on this, it should not contend that corruption had happened.
Azeez was charged with three counts of accepting bribes totalling RM5.2 million in connection with road projects in Perak and Kedah, as well as 10 counts of money laundering.
He is accused of committing the bribery offences at CIMB Bank in Jalan Tun Perak here on December 8, 2010, and at Affin Bank in Pusat Bandar Puchong, Selangor, on June 13, 2017 and April 10, 2018, while the money-laundering offences were allegedly committed in the Klang Valley between March 8, 2010 and August 30, 2018. – The Vibes, September 7, 2021
