Bernama reported that Jazman Shahar Abdollah, 53, his wife Mariam Zakaria, 49, and their son, Irfan Hadi, 28, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out separately before judges Hamidah Deril and Azrul Darus.
Eight charges against the trio were read before Hamidah and four before Azrul.
Jazman was charged before Hamidah with two counts of involvement in 17 transactions involving proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to RM119,549,889.98 and three transactions involving RM18,002,804 between Oct 25, 2021 and Jan 10, 2023, at Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur.
The former CEO was also charged with being involved in 12 transactions involving money derived from unlawful activities amounting to RM5,833,619.07 to Sariah & Associates in Seberang Jaya, Penang, between March 1, 2022 and Jan 26, 2023 at the same location.
Irfan Hadi was charged with transferring money from unlawful activities amounting to RM5 million through Maybank cheques from a current account belonging to Kenaf Trading Global to a Maybank current account belonging to AR Rizq Capital Bhd.
Irfan also faces a second charge of transferring money from unlawful activities amounting to RM300,000 through a fund transfer instruction letter dated July 13, 2022, from a Maybank current account belonging to Kenaf Venture Global for the purpose of opening an account.
He was also charged with disposing of proceeds from unlawful activities from Kenaf Venture Global’s account for the purpose of purchasing a 3,592 sq ft office unit in a commercial complex at Plaza Sentral, erected on a master title worth RM3,304,640.
The three offences were allegedly committed at Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, in Kuala Lumpur between March 7 and July 22, 2022.
Mariam was charged with one count of disposing of money from unlawful activities amounting to RM1,634,882 through six Maybank cheques from the account of her firm, Sariah & Associates, for the purchase of a three-storey bungalow in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya. The offence was allegedly committed at a building in Seberang Jaya, Penang, between March 25, 2022 and Jan 9, 2023.
She was also charged before Hamidah with disposing of money amounting to RM78,490.45 through Maybank cheques from the firm’s Maybank current account for the purchase of a sports utility vehicle in her son’s name at the same location on Dec 12, 2022.
Bernama reported that in Azrul’s courtroom, Jazman was charged with disposing of proceeds from unlawful activities from Kenaf Venture Global’s account on June 24, 2022 at Plaza Sentral.
Mariam was charged with three counts of receiving money from the illegal “Kenaf Development Fund” investment scheme amounting to RM4,238,663.81, deposited into the accused’s Maybank savings account between Oct 1, 2021 and Dec 31, 2023 at a building in Seberang Jaya, Penang.
All the offences come under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The section provides for a maximum jail term of 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the proceeds of the unlawful activity at the time the offence was committed, or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Each of the courts allowed Jazman to be granted bail of RM60,000, Mariam bail of RM30,000 and Irfan bail of RM20,000, with one surety on all charges, with the additional condition that they report to the nearest police station every month and hand their passports to the court until the case is over.
The court fixed April 15 for mention of the case.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Megat Mahathir Megat Tharih Afendi while all the accused were represented by lawyer Zahidah Zaman.