The Kuala Lumpur High Court has freed the Pontian Member of Parliament (MP), Ahmad Maslan from 2 charges of money laundering involving a sum of RM2 million received from the former Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and giving false statements to the MACC.
On the money-laundering charge, Ahmad was allegedly to have violated Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 by not stating his real income on the RM2 million he received from Najib, for the assessment year 2013.
Meanwhile, he was also accused of giving false statements to MACC when questioned by investigating officer Mohd Zairi Zainal on the issue, in Parliament’s media conference room on 4 July 2019.
According to The Star, High Court judge Justice Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh ordered the Pontian MP to be freed after the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP), Mohd Mukhzany Fariz Mohd Mokhtar informed the court that the prosecution is withdrawing the 2 charges after the accused paid a compound of RM1.1 million yesterday.
In a media statement issued by law firm Messrs Shahrul Hamidi & Haziq, they said the settlement is as agreed by the prosecution and the defence and it does not tantamount to a guilty plea.
“In making the application not to proceed with the prosecution against the accused, the DPP confirmed that the accused will not be charged again with the same charges. This is due to the fact that the accused has accepted the offer of a compound and settled the payment.”
“In accordance with Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the decision of the Court of Appeal in the public prosecutor’s case against Ambika M.A. Shanmugam, the court hereby orders that the accused be acquitted and discharged on the first and second charges.”
“All the dates that had been fixed to hear the case have been vacated.” they said, as reported by Bernama.
“It was done according to the law and has gone through a transparent process.”
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, Ahmad Maslan from 2 charges of money laundering involving a sum of RM2 million received from the former Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and giving false statements to the MACC.){kind=link}