The former navy chief has been accused of fraudulently approving three payments amounting to RM21.08 million to three different firms without the approval of the BNS board.
Ramli, 78, was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years, whipping and a fine if found guilty.
He pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him before sessions court judge Suzana Hussain.
The judge allowed Ramli bail of RM500,000 in one surety and set Nov 24 for case mention.
On the first charge, Ramli was accused of committing an offence by fraudulently approving the transfer of RM13,541,140 to a Singapore-based company, Setaria Holdings Limited, without the approval of the BNS board. The offence was allegedly committed between July 26, 2010 and March 25, 2011.
On the second charge, he was accused of fraudulently approving the transfer of RM1,350,716 to another Singapore-based company, JSD Corporation Pte Ltd, without the approval of the BNS board. The offence allegedly took place between April 19 and May 4, 2011.
The third charge alleged that Ramli had fraudulently approved the transfer of RM6,182,295 to Sousmarin Armada Ltd without the approval of BNS’ board. He allegedly committed the offence between Oct 28 and Nov 22, 2010.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin prosecuted, while Mohd Yusof Zainal Abidin represented Ramli.
BNS was tasked with building six navy frigates in the troubled RM9 billion littoral combat ship (LCS) project, which has come under parliamentary scrutiny over costs and delays in construction.
The first ship was launched in 2017 and scheduled for delivery in 2019, with the rest at six-month intervals. However, none have been completed or delivered.
The project was plunged into controversy earlier this month after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) questioned management and contract decisions made by two senior management officials.
In its report, the PAC noted that not a single ship had been completed to date despite the government having paid RM6.08 billion. The contract to acquire the six ships was awarded to BNS through direct negotiations in 2011.
Ramli was also the chairman of the LCS Steering Committee.
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