KUALA LUMPUR – The RM9.5 million money laundering trial involving lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has been postponed after a witness called in sick.
Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz said the witness, former Inland Revenue Board tax officer Syed Nasrul Fahmi Syed Mohamad is not feeling well, reported Bernama.
Afzainizam told judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin that the witness informed him about his health condition at 8am today.
“The witness is still under cross-examination. Our next witness would be the investigating officer. Hence, we request today’s trial be postponed to tomorrow,” said the prosecutor.
As Shafee’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh did not object, the court adjourned today’s trial and set tomorrow for continuing the hearing.
Last September, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) assistant commissioner Mohd Nasharudin Amir testified that the RM9.5 million received by Shafee from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2013 and 2014 was used to purchase a bungalow in Bukit Tunku here.
Nasharudin, who was then MACC Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Illicit Activities Investigations Unit head, said Shafee also told him that the RM9.5 million had no links to his appointment as deputy public prosecutor in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy II appeal case.
On September 13, 2018, Shafee pleaded not guilty to two charges of receiving RM9.5 million, which were proceeds from unlawful activities through two cheques issued by Najib that were deposited into his CIMB Bank Bhd account.
He was also charged with two counts of engaging in transactions resulting from illegal activities, namely submitting incorrect tax returns, which is in violation of Paragraph 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 for the financial years ending December 31, 2013, and December 31, 2014. – The Vibes, March 28, 2022
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