Razrul Anwar Rosli, 45, pleaded not guilty to all charges after they were read out before judge Zulqarnain Hassan, Utusan Malaysia reported.
According to the charge sheet, Razrul allegedly operated a securities business without holding a capital market service licence or being registered to trade in securities.
The offences were said to have occurred at a house in Petaling Jaya between April 2019 and April 2021.
He was charged under Section 58(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (Act 671), which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a RM10 million fine, or both, upon conviction.
Razrul also faces eight counts of cheating five individuals by transferring RM3.16 million of their funds into four bank accounts — Wakala Ventures, AML Global, EMD Media Digital and AMT Global Business — held at Maybank Islamic Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd.
The funds were purportedly for investment in a shariah-compliant bond scheme known as “Amal Trust”, which was allegedly based on false representations.
These offences were said to have occurred at four locations: Bangunan Yayasan Selangor (Jalan Raja Muda Abd Aziz), Bandar Puchong Jaya, Pandan Indah and Jalan Jelutong in Penang between January 2020 and April 2021.
These charges fall under Section 179(b) of the same Act and are punishable under Section 182, which provides for up to 10 years in prison and a RM1 million fine.
Razrul was also charged with falsely displaying licensing credentials on the “Amal Trust” website, leading the public to believe he was authorised to deal in securities.
This charge falls under Section 362(3), punishable under Section 372(1), which carries a maximum five-year prison term, a RM1 million fine, or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Hashley Tajudin from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) led the prosecution while lawyer Syamril Afzan Hasim appeared for Razrul.
The court granted bail at RM500,000 with two sureties and ordered the accused to surrender his passport and report to the SC monthly.
The case is scheduled for mention on June 17.