The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur has granted the prosecution’s request to combine the money laundering and corruption charges involving the Jana Wibawa project faced by former Bersatu Information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan (pic).
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd ‘Afif Ali sought to have the money laundering case transferred to be tried together with the corruption case before judge Rozina Ayob at this court.
Wan Saiful’s lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad did not raise any objections to the application.
Wan Saiful, who is also the Tasek Gelugor MP, had previously been charged with 18 counts of money laundering amounting to RM5.59mil before judge Suzana Hussin, as well as two counts of soliciting and accepting bribes totaling RM6.9mil before Rozina.
Mohd ‘Afif told the court on Friday (Dec 1) that the prosecution plans to call 32 witnesses to testify during the trial, and requested that the previously scheduled trial dates of March 11 and 12 be vacated to allow for document preparation.
Rozina upheld the trial dates for March 25 to 27; April 29 and 30; and May 20 and 21 of next year, and added the dates of June 19 to 21; June 24 and 25; July 10 to 12; as well as Aug 8 and 9.
Wan Saiful, 47, allegedly requested bribes from Lian Tan Chuan to assist Nepturis Sdn Bhd in securing the RM232mil “Central Spine Road: Sertik to East Coast Highway Interchange” project from the government in the pre-qualification stage.
He is also accused of accepting RM6,962,694.54 in cash through his company WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd’s CIMB Bank account from the Maybank Islamic account belonging to Nepturis, as a reward for helping the company obtain a Letter of Acceptance for the project.
The two offenses were allegedly committed at the Royal Lake Club in Taman Tasik Perdana and at the CIMB Bank Bukit Tunku Branch in Taman Tunku, Bukit Tunku between July 8 and Sept 30 last year.
Wan Saiful also faces 18 counts of money laundering involving RM5.59mil by using the illegal proceeds to purchase a Ford Ranger vehicle, make payments to the Malaysian National Sports Council, and transfer money to several company accounts, including one belonging to Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd.
These offenses were allegedly committed at CIMB Bank Bukit Tunku Branch between August 12 and November 13 last year, and the charges were filed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. – Bernama
