Former Felda president Shahrir requests the recusal of a judge in the RM1mil money laundering case



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KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Former President of Felda, Tan Sri Shahrir Abd Samad (Photo), who faces a charge for not declaring the RM1mil received from former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the Internal Revenue Board (LHDN), has requested that High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali not listen to his request to transfer the case of the Session of the Court to the Superior Court.

His lawyer, Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, who represented Shahrir, told the court that he filed the application after receiving instructions from his client to do so.

Based on the affidavit filed on December 17, Shahrir asked the court for an order for Judge Mohd Nazlan to recuse himself from hearing the matter and to transfer it to another High Court as “there is a real possibility (danger) of partiality ”.

“Through the charges brought against me, I have been accused of receiving income from Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the amount of RM1 thousand through a check from AmIslamic Bank Berhad … I have also been informed by my lawyer and I really believe that Datuk Seri Najib has been tried and convicted, and was sentenced on July 28.

“The judge who tried, decided and convicted Datuk Seri Najib in the (SRC) case was Judge Mohd Nazlan, the same judge who is scheduled to hear the request to transfer my case.

“Among the reasons raised through the cause documents to support the request to transfer my case is that the check that they allegedly gave me came from Datuk Seri Najib,” he said.

Deputy Prosecutor Mohd Afif Ali later informed the court that the prosecution needed time to submit an affidavit in response to the request.

“The defendant requests one to two weeks to respond to the affidavit,” he said.

Firoz Hussein also requested two weeks to respond to the affidavit submitted by the prosecution.

After which, Judge Mohd Nazlan set February 8 to hear the request.

Shahrir is also represented by attorneys Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad, former Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and Syahrul Syazwan Salehin, while Afif is assisted by Deputy Prosecutor Natrah Fareha Rahmad.

Shahrir, 71, is charged with money laundering for failing to indicate his actual income on the 2013 Income Tax Return Form, which constitutes a violation of Section 113 (1) (a) of the 1967 Income Tax Act, at RM1mil, it is believed to come from illegal activities he received from Najib through a check from AmIslamic Bank Berhad dated November 27, 2013.

The check was then deposited into his Islamic Public Bank (Shahrir) account on November 28, 2013.

Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim was charged with committing the crime at LHDN, Duta Branch, Government Office Complex, here on April 25, 2014.

The charge, framed in Section 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Illicit Activities Act of 2001, establishes a maximum fine of RM5 million, or imprisonment of up to five years, or both. , if convicted.- Bernama



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