Aman Palestin: Executive chairman, CEO among three charged with 164 counts of CBT, cheating, money laundering

SHAH ALAM - Aman Palestin Berhad (Aman Palestin) executive chairman and its chief executive officer (CEO) were among three individuals charged in the Sessions Court here today with 164 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT), cheating and money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit in the company’s funds.

The executive chairman Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman, 58, CEO Awang Suffian Awang Piut, 52, and a director of an investment company, Khairudin Mohd Ali, 49, pleaded not guilty to all the charges which were read out before Judge Datuk Anita Harun.

Abdullah Zaik and Awang Suffian, in their capacity as directors of Samudra Champa Sdn Bhd (Samudra Champa) who were entrusted with property amounting to RM20,946,498.80, belonging to Aman Palestin, were each charged with 52 counts of CBT of the property a bank in Bandar Baru Bangi near here between March 12, 2018, and Nov 3, 2023.

They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years, whipping and a fine, if convicted.

They are also jointly charged with 19 counts of cheating by deceiving the Aman Palestine Board of Trustees into handing over RM39,150,000 in cash to Samudra Champa for the purchase of gold, whereby the purchase price was lower.

They were alleged to have committed the offences at Aman Palestin Berhad, Section 3, Bandar Baru Bangi near here between Sept 24, 2021, and July 14, 2023.

The charges were framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same law, whereby they face a maximum of 10 years in prison, whipping and a fine, if found guilty.

Abdullah Zaik and Awang Suffian, as directors of the Samudra Champa, were also charged with 19 counts each of using proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM12,833,772.16 as payment for the purchase of a semi-D house, shop house, land lot, shop lot, office factory and a Toyota Velfire car for the company.

As for Khairudin, he was charged as the director of the same company, with committing a similar offence involving RM6,038,016.60 as payment for the purchase of a shop lot, a shophouse and a semi-detached office factory.

The offences were allegedly committed at several banks in Bandar Baru Bangi and Kajang near here between June 1, 2018, and May 3, 2023.

The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 and can be punished under Section 4(1) read with Section 87(1) of the same law.

If convicted, they face imprisonment for up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the proceeds of the illegal activity or RM5 million, whichever is higher.

The court allowed Abdullah Zaik and Awang Suffian bail of RM1 million with one surety each, while Khairudin's bail was set at RM200,000 with one surety. The three men were also ordered to surrender their passports to the court.

For the bail, they were allowed to pay half of the bail amount today, with the balance before or on March 13, which is also the date for mention of the case.

The prosecution was handled by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Akram Gharib, Wirna Rifin @ Arifin, Nurul Atiqah Mohamad Alias ​​and prosecuting officer Fatin Farhana Ismail, while all the accused were represented by lawyer Siti Mardhiyyah Zamani. - BERNAMA