Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) anti-money laundering investigation division assistant director Safwan Arbangi said Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours (W) Sdn Bhd and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd were instructed to cancel Azlan’s overseas travel bookings and refund money that had been paid using Perlis government funds.
He said the holiday package was arranged by Herwardy Hashim, Azlan’s then senior private secretary, on Azlan’s instructions. Azlan later ordered Herwardy to inform both travel agencies about the cancellation.
“My investigation found that the refund was determined by Azlan himself after he cancelled his holiday. This is supported by documents, bank statements from both parties, and witness statements,” he said, reading from his witness statement as the prosecution’s 19th witness.
He was testifying in the former Perlis menteri besar’s trial, where Azlan faces 10 charges of submitting false claims and receiving proceeds from unlawful activities.
Safwan said both travel agencies were instructed to refund the money to Azlan via four cheques totalling RM852,207.28, and RM207,468 in cash, between 2014 and 2017.
He also said Azlan had requested that payments from the Perlis government be made through local orders (LOs) into the travel agencies’ accounts for the holiday packages, although the trips never took place.
“Overall, my investigation found consistent witness statements and documentary evidence supporting the offence of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001,” he said.
Asked by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat how he had come to the conclusion that Azlan had received illicit funds, Safwan said overseas travel claims were made five times between 2013 and 2017 using LOs involving Perlis state funds, and that Azlan had cancelled all the trips.
He added that based on Perlis’s finance and treasury officials’ statements, cancelled LOs should have resulted in refunds to the state government, not to Azlan.
Azlan, 67, faces five charges of submitting false claims for overseas holidays amounting to more than RM1.18 million. The offences were allegedly committed at the Perlis state secretary’s office between December 2013 and December 2017.
The claims involved quotations for flight tickets to London and invoices from Sri Kedawang, and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.
He is charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of five times the value of the false claim, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Azlan faces five additional charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM1.06 million under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The offences were allegedly committed between Feb 19, 2014, and December 2017 at a Maybank branch on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a CIMB branch in Putrajaya, and the Sheraton Imperial Hotel.
He faces five alternative charges of criminal breach of trust under Section 403 of the Penal Code for allegedly misappropriating RM1.06 million in Perlis state funds. The offence carries a penalty of six months to five years’ imprisonment and may also include caning and a fine.
The trial before judge Azura Alwi will resume on April 23.