KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's defence team will study all documents from the prosecution before deciding if they will challenge the validity of the charge.
Speaking to the press after case management on Tuesday, lead defence counsel Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad said there are legal issues with the charge which don't require documents. However, the availability of all the documents would be of advantage to them.
Earlier in court, Amer had also said he hoped the prosecution can supply them with the complete documents before the next case management on Dec 4, to ensure that any defence application can also be filed before that date. He did not disclose the nature of the potential application.
Deputy public prosecutor Ifa Sirrhu Samsudin informed the court that five volumes of documents have been passed to the defence so far. These include the seizure documents and documents linked to other (declared) assets owned by Ismail Sabri.
In late August, the country's ninth prime minister was charged with a single charge of intentionally providing a written statement that does not comply with the terms of a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) notice dated Jan 7, 2025, by failing to declare cash in various currencies, and gold and silver bars. Ismail Sabri has claimed trial.
His lawyers, however, said they were baffled by the charge against their client, noting that the assets he has allegedly failed to declare are currently in the government’s possession. They added that they reserve their right to challenge the validity of the charge.
A large chunk of the items — save for the addition of the gold and silver — were part of forfeiture proceedings last October, where the Sessions Court had ordered for over RM169 million in cash, allegedly linked to Ismail Sabri and his former political secretary Datuk Mohammad Anuar Mohd Yunus, to be forfeited to the Malaysian government.
The monies were among the items seized by the MACC following raids on homes and offices believed to be used as "safe houses".