KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has charged businessman Razrul Anwar Rusli at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for defrauding five investors of RM3.159 million in a fictitious investment scheme known as “Amal Trust”.
The SC said Razrul, 44, is facing eight charges under Section 179(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) for allegedly inducing investors to put their monies into what he falsely claimed were Shariah-compliant bonds offering high returns.
"The victims had transferred their monies to several bank accounts for the alleged investment following Razrul’s representation," the commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
In addition to the fraud charges, Razrul was slapped with two further charges for unlicensed capital market activities.
One of the charges, under Section 58(1) of the CMSA, relates to Razrul holding himself out as dealing in securities without a Capital Markets Services Licence. "Razrul does not hold a Capital Markets Services Licence (CMSL) nor is he a registered person for dealing in securities," the SC said.
The other charge, under Section 362(3) of the same act, involves misleading representations on the Amal Trust website that suggested regulatory compliance. "This created the belief that Razrul was licensed to carry on a business in relation to the regulated activity of dealing in securities when he was in fact not licensed," the regulator explained.
Razrul claimed trial to all 10 charges before judge Zulqarnain Hassan, who granted him bail of RM500,000 with two local sureties. He was also ordered to surrender his passport and report to the SC monthly.
If convicted, Razrul could face up to 10 years in jail and fines of at least RM1 million. The unlicensed dealing charge carries a maximum RM10 million fine or 10 years' jail or both, while the misrepresentation charge carries a penalty of up to RM1 million or five years’ jail or both.
This is not Razrul’s first run-in with the law. In 2021, he was reported in local media to have been charged in a separate case for receiving illegal deposits totalling RM132,900 between July and September 2017.
In that case, Razrul, a former Johor Bahru division deputy chief of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, was charged under Section 137(1) of the Financial Services Act 2013. If found guilty, he could face imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding RM50 million, or both.
He was charged alongside his two brothers — Muhammad Faizal Mohd Zazali and Mohamad Fauzi — and had initially failed to appear in court, prompting authorities to track him down.