KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has sentenced an unlicensed futures trader to 20 years in prison and fined him RM9 million for a fraudulent palm oil investment scheme.
Mohd Azhidi Laili deceived nine victims of a total of RM1.45 million in a purported futures crude palm oil (FCPO) investment under AmFutures Sdn Bhd, which did not exist. He falsely represented himself as a futures trader and committed the offences between May 2013 and March 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.
Sessions Court judge Hamidah Mohamed Deril passed the sentence after Mohd Azhidi pleaded guilty on Thursday to nine charges under Section 206(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA), according to the Securities Commission Malaysia's (SC) statement.
Mohd Azhidi was sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of RM1 million in default of three months’ imprisonment for each charge, with the imprisonment terms to run concurrently. Failure to pay the fine will result in a further 27 months in jail upon completion of his prison term.
He also pleaded guilty to one charge under Section 59(1) of the CMSA for claiming to be a representative of AmFutures without being licensed or registered to deal in derivatives — an activity regulated by the SC under the CMSA. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for this offence, to be served concurrently with the other sentences.
Mohd Azhidi was initially charged by the SC on Feb 14, 2022, two days after his arrest. He initially claimed trial to all charges and was released on RM250,000 bail with two sureties, on condition that he surrender his passport and report monthly to the SC’s investigating officer.
The trial began in February 2023 and continued until March 2025, when he changed his plea to guilty. A total of 28 prosecution witnesses, including seven victims, testified in court.
His bail was revoked on May 21, 2024, after he failed to appear in court for two case mentions and did not comply with his monthly reporting obligation. The court ordered his prison term to commence from the date of bail revocation.