KUALA LUMPUR – Former Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman and Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim today failed to get 13 corruption and money-laundering charges thrown out.
The high court here dismissed his application, leaving Azeez to face trial over the charges linked to road projects in Perak and Kedah.
High court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin said all the charges made against Azeez are not defective and based on the provisions of law.
“I find the reason given by the applicant (Azeez) baseless. The applicant also failed to show that the charges made against him were mala fide (malicious).
“In my opinion, this case is not a suitable and appropriate case for the court to exercise its existing power to set aside and quash the charges against the applicant. Therefore, the applicant’s application is dismissed.”
He added that the charges made under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 are not flawed, even though four separate projects were combined in one charge as the bribes received were in relation to those projects.
Azeez, 54, was charged with three counts of accepting bribes totalling RM5.2 million and 10 counts of money laundering amounting to RM140 million.
In his application, he had said the charges were groundless, defective and done in bad faith.
His brother, Datuk Abdul Latif Abdul Rahim, is charged with abetting him but is set to testify against Azeez.
It was reported that Azeez’s corruption charges are framed under the MACC Act 2009 while the money-laundering charges are under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.
He allegedly committed bribery between December 8, 2010 and April 10, 2018, and money-laundering activities between March 2010 and August 2018.
He will now face trial in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
In a related case, Azeez’s family faces a RM16 million forfeiture suit after failing to acquire a stay last December.
The prosecution had named Azeez’s wife, Khadijah Mohd Nor, sons Mohamed Khairul Anwar and Mohamed Khairul Azman, daughters Khaleeda Azwa and Khaleeda Azeera, and family-linked company Azeera Management Consultants Sdn Bhd, as respondents.
It is reported that the money was being kept in their Tabung Haji accounts, which have been frozen since December 2018.
Azeera Management Consultants is one of the companies allegedly involved in his corruption and money-laundering case. His wife and children are reportedly directors of the company. – The Vibes, March 12, 2021
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