SHAH ALAM, Dec 5 — Hang Tuah Jaya MP Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin was today charged with accepting a bribe of RM64,924 in exchange for helping secure approval for a mineral exploration licence in Sabah.
The 50-year-old claimed trial at the Sessions Court here, Bernama reported.
“I understand the charge, I plead not guilty and claim trial,” he said when the charge was read out before Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin.
Shamsul Iskandar, who was at that time a senior political secretary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was accused of taking RM62,924 from businessman Albert Tei Jiann Cheing, 37, at a bank in Country Heights, Kajang, between November 28, 2023, and September 23, 2024.
The money was deposited into a woman’s bank account for the purpose of paying rent for a house in Kuala Lumpur and was alleged to be an inducement to help Tei’s companies secure approval for mineral exploration licences in Sabah.
The charge, under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
The judge agreed to the bail request and set the same terms and conditions as given out at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
He also ordered the case to be transferred there to be tried together.
The next mention date is set for January 8, 2026.
Yesterday, Shamsul Iskandar claimed trial to four similar corruption charges totalling RM176,829.03 in connection with Sabah mineral licences , allegedly given by Tei.
The MP was released on M150,000 bail with two Malaysian guarantors, reporting himself to the MACC monthly, and told not to interfere with any potential witness.
