KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid claimed trial today to a charge of criminal breach of trust (CBT) over the alleged embezzlement of US$12.1 million (RM50.4 million) of government funds.

The former director-general of the defunct Malaysia External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) pleaded not guilty when the charge proffered under Section 409 of the Penal Code was read out to her before Sessions Court judge Azman Ahmad.

Hasanah is accused of committing the offence in her previous capacity as a civil servant in the Research Department of the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya between April 30 and May 9 this year.

If convicted, she may be punished with imprisonment between two to 20 years, caning and a fine.

Previously, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner (Operations) Datuk Seri Azam Baki reportedly said a total of US$12 million in public funds was allegedly misappropriated.

In September, the MACC announced seizures totalling some US$6.3 million in US currency from various locations nationwide while investigating MEIO’s alleged embezzlement.

Earlier in the same court, former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were jointly charged with six counts of CBT involving some RM6.64 billion.