Grant Thornton’s Narendrakumar Chunilal Rugnath was charged with CBT amounting to RM2.38 million before two separate judges, The Edge reported.

He is accused of five counts of CBT in his capacity as manager and receiver of Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd over deposits belonging to Pelangi Prestasi Sdn Bhd.

The charges, framed under Section 409 of the Penal Code, each carries a sentence of up to 20 years’ jail and whipping and a fine, upon conviction.

The five charges were read before sessions court judge Bakri Abd Majid. Two of the offences were allegedly committed in July and September 2020, and the other three from February to May the same year.

Since CBT is a non-bailable offence, deputy public prosecutor Zulaaikha Mod Apandi did not offer bail but left it to the court’s discretion.

However, she suggested bail of RM100,000 for the first two charges, and another RM100,000 for the other three charges.

Narendrakumar’s lawyer, AG Kalidas, asked for a lower amount as his client was 72 years old, had health issues and posed no flight risk.

Bakri set bail of RM60,000 in one surety and instructed Narendrakumar to surrender his passport to the court.

Before sessions court judge Sabariah Othman, Narendrakumar was slapped with three more charges for offences allegedly committed in November and December 2019 and January 2020.

Sabariah set bail of RM50,000 in one surety.

Both judges set Oct 14 for case mention.

Daniel Annamalai held a watching brief for Pelangi Prestasi.