Sessions court judge Abu Bakar Manat ordered the trio to do so after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case, Harian Metro reported.

The two others are Tahir’s wife, Fauziah Piut, and the department’s former deputy director Lim Lam Beng.

The court fixed Feb 26 to 28 and April 28 and 30 next year for the trio to enter their defence.

The trio pleaded not guilty in 2019 to 37 counts of money laundering involving RM61.57 million and the unlawful possession of luxury items.

Tahir faces 11 charges and Fauziah, 19 under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The couple are jointly charged on two counts while Tahir faces one other charge.

The alleged offences were said to have been committed by Tahir and his wife at an office in Kota Kinabalu, a house in Sembulan, several bank branches, and a condominium in Sulaman, all in Sabah, as well as in Kuala Lumpur between Oct 4 and Nov 4, 2016.

Lim, who faces four charges, was alleged to have been in possession of cash amounting to RM2.38 million between Oct 13 and Nov 8, 2016.