KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — Former Youth and Sports Ministry official Otman Arsahd was charged today with laundering more than RM16 million, just weeks after he was hauled to court for forgery and abuse of power.
Otman, who is accused of receiving unlawful proceeds amounting to RM16.62 million, claimed trial this afternoon to 64 counts of money laundering, with some charges proffered under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLATFA) 2001 and others under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFAPUAA) 2001.
If convicted for offences committed under Section 4(1)(a), the 57-year-old faces a maximum five-year jail term or a maximum RM5 million fine or both.
If convicted for offences committed under Section 4(1)(b), Otman faces a maximum 15-year jail term and a fine that is either at least five times the sum of the unlawful activity’s proceeds or five million ringgit, or whichever is higher.
AMLATFA and AMLATFAPUAA are both amended versions of the principal Act that first came into force in 2002.
The charges against Otman under AMLATFA are for offences allegedly committed at the time the law was in force, while charges under AMLATFAPUAA apply to those that took place after the Act was amended in September 2014.
Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Allaudeen Ismail fixed bail at RM100,000 and May 31 as the next mention date.
Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi initially sought bail of RM500,000, but Otman’s lawyer Fahmi Abd Moin said his client could only afford to collect RM50,000 today and put up a grant for a land measuring half a hectare.
At the same court, businessman Halmi Khalid was charged with transferring RM900,000 of unlawful proceeds to Otman’s RHB Bank account through a cash deposit made at RHB Bank’s Plaza Damas branch on December 10, 2015.
After Halmi claimed trial to a charge under Section 4(1)(b) of the AMLATFAPUAA, Allaudeen fixed bail of RM60,000 and ordered the sports equipment supply firm director to surrender his passport to the court. May 31 was fixed for mention of his case.
Halmi’s lawyer Ridha Abdah Subri had earlier sought for a RM50,000 bail instead of the prosecution’s RM100,000 offer, arguing that the 35-year-old poses no flight risk as he had voluntarily surrendered yesterday and was also his family’s sole breadwinner with accounts that have been frozen.
Two others – a couple who were directors of three firms conducting the business of sports equipment supply and events management – were also charged today with 63 counts each of transferring money derived from unlawful activities to Otman’s accounts.
This afternoon, Siti Rohanah Hussein, one of the directors, was charged with laundering money of over RM15.7 million through cheques by the three firms.
Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Sohaini Alias fixed her bail at RM70,000 with one surety and ordered her to surrender her passport. Her case mention is fixed for May 24.
