KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Umno legal adviser Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who is on trial for three charges of money laundering for allegedly receiving RM15 million in illicit funds from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2014 and 2015, had a change of the Sessions Court judge hearing the case.
Initially, the trial was fixed before Sessions Court Judge Azman Ahmad but following his transfer, the case will now be heard before Judge Ahmad Kamar Jamaludin.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Ishak Mohd Yusoff informed Judge Ahmad Kamar that the prosecution could not provide the witness statement to the defence as they had trouble interviewing witnesses as a result of restrictions in travelling due to the conditional movement control order (CMCO).
"As a result, we applied to the court to give another mention date within a month for the prosecution to complete this.
“Although the CMCO was lifted last week, the prosecution could not finish interviewing them,” he said.
Mohd Hafarizam's counsel Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican said they had no objections.
With this, Judge Ahmad Kamar fixed Feb 5, 2021 for mention before him.
Previously, the prosecution on Aug 3 withdrew the two charges earlier and recharged Mohd Hafarizam with three counts for receiving money from Najib that is said to have originated from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-related matters via three cheques through his law firm's client account.
The first charge involves RM7.5 million and is made under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUA).
Meanwhile, the second and third charges, involving deposits of RM4 million and RM3.5 million respectively, are made under the amended Section 4(1)(b) of the AMLATFPUA.
Section 4(1)(a) provides for a fine of not more than RM5 million or imprisonment of not more than five years or both, while Section 4(1)(b) provides for imprisonment of not more than five years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the proceeds from unlawful activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
The reason for separate sections being applied to the charges is because the first tranche of deposits was made in April 2014 when Section 4(1)(a) was applicable, whereas the second and third tranches were deposited between November 2014 and February 2015 — after the act was updated to include Section 4(1)(b).