3 plead not guilty to 899 charges of money laundering worth RM1.7b

JOHOR BARU: Three men pleaded not guilty to 899 charges of money laundering, amounting to RM1.7 billion, between 2012 to 2016 at two Sessions Courts here, today.
The three accused, Muhammad Razik Mohamed Riyaludin, 36; Ramli Mohd Hassan, 59, and Mohamed Thamimul Ansari, 41, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read separately in front of Sessions judges Hakim Kamarudin Kamsun and Mohammad Khalid Ab Karim.

Muhammad Razik faces 352 charges, while Ramli 196 and Mohamed Thamimul 351 charges.
They were charged with allegedly committing the offence between 2012 to 2016 around Johor Baru by way of transferring, receiving, possessing, and disposing illegal funds on behalf of the original sender to recipients within the country or abroad.
They were charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 which carries a jail term of up to 15 years or a fine up to five times of the graft amount or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
The court set the bail at RM4 million each for Muhammad Razik and Mohamed Thamimul, and RM2.8 million for Ramli with two guarantors for each of them respectively, while they were also ordered to surrender their passports to the court.
Husmarudin Husin appeared as deputy public prosecutor while the three accused were represented by lawyer Mahendran Mahason.
The court also set May 8 for re-mention and they each paid their bail.