KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28): The Sessions Court here has allowed Bersatu’s Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad’s six money laundering charges to be transferred from Shah Alam Sessions Court to Kuala Lumpur.
The Bersatu Segambut deputy chief was previously charged in Shah Alam for the six new money laundering charges, amounting to RM3.67 million, under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA) earlier this month.
Adam was charged with transferring RM3.675 million, believed to be from illegal proceeds, to his own CIMB Bank account and that of three other individuals’. The funds originated from Bayu Bumiraya Sdn Bhd, of which Adam was the director. One of the recipients was a person by the name of Nabilah Mahiaddin.
Adam had pleaded not guilty to the charges in Shah Alam. In the Sessions Court here on Tuesday, judge Azura Alwi allowed the application by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fadhly Mohd Zamy to transfer the case from the Shah Alam Sessions Court, to be heard before Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Suzana Husain.
He also informed that he will file an application to have all of Adam’s previous related charges in KL to be heard jointly, so that a joint trial for all of his criminal cases can be heard before one court and not separate courts.
Azura then fixed Jan 11, 2024 for case management. Adam was present and represented by lawyer Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam.
Earlier this year in February, Adam was slapped with five graft charges related to projects under the Jana Wibawa programme.
On Feb 21, Adam was charged with two graft charges at the KL Sessions Court.
In the first charge, he allegedly solicited a bribe amount of 3.5% to 7% of the total amount of a roadwork project worth RM47.8 million from Mat Jusoh Mamat, who is the managing director of MIE Infrastructure & Energy Sdn Bhd.
In the second charge, he allegedly received RM500,000 in his CIMB Bank account from Jusoh Mamat, as an inducement for helping MIE secure the roadwork project from Jalan Sg Adam to Kg Banat, Perlis.
On Feb 22, Adam was once again pressed with two graft charges, this time at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.
In the first charge, he allegedly received RM2 million in bribes from a person by the name of Lian Tan Chuan, for helping Lian’s company Nepturis Sdn Bhd to obtain a contract in the Northern Klang district for its head office from the government, worth RM141 million.
The second charge states that Adam allegedly received RM2.1 million from Mat Jusoh for a separate roadwork project from Jalan Sg Adam to Kg Banat, Perlis, which cost RM47.8 million.
Then on Feb 28, Adam was charged with soliciting and asking for a bribe from Lian to allegedly help Nepturis secure a contract for the Klang Utara district police headquarters project, worth RM141 million.
All charges are framed under Section 16(a)(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, and punishable under Section 24 of the same Act, which carries up to 20 years’ jail, and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Jana Wibawa, or Program Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputera Berwibawa, was mooted during the Perikatan Nasional administration, in which Bersatu was a component party. The then government of the day said that the programme was set up to improve the capacity of Bumiputera contractors in the construction industry, as well as to expedite project execution to spur the nation’s economic recovery post Covid-19.