The contract, said to be through direct negotiation, reportedly worth RM318.75 million, was awarded to Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd in 2016.

The same company has also obtained a government contract to supply Malaysian passports until 2021.

According to the charges, Zahid received RM6 million from Datasonic director Chew Ben Ben on Apr 26 last year.

The money was said to have been transferred to an account belonging to law firm Lewis and Co.

Zahid is also facing two charges under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act for receiving the RM6 million, in two transcations, as bribe to approve the project for Datasonic.

He faces a maximum 20 years’ jail sentence and a fine of up to RM30 million.

Late last year, Zahid had announced new Malaysian passports with enhanced features such as facial recognition and biometrics.

Zahid is further accused of receiving RM13.3 million from a company called Mastoro Kenny IT Consultant and Services, for the MyEG project under his former ministry.

The money was allegedly paid to him in 24 cheques between July 2016 and February last year, also to Lewis and Co’s account, so that he would help Mastoro Kenny to obtain MyEG projects.

MyEG is an e-service provider that provides a wide range of government services including those related to the traffic police, the National Registration Department and the Immigration Department.

Zahid is also accused of receiving RM2 million last year from Azlan Shah Jaffril, a director of Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd, as inducement to appoint them to operate the One Stop Centre (OSC) to process work permits for Pakistani and Nepali workers.