Feb.10, 2010, 3:37:00 PM
A company chief executive officer claimed trial to four counts of money-laundering amounting to RM6.15mil at the Sessions Court here.
Eastana Farm Management (M) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Syed Shareezally Syed Aualadali pleaded not guilty when the four charges were read out to him before judge Balqis Aini Mohd Ali on Wednesday.
His company is involved in livestock farming and beef production.
Syed Shareezally had earlier been charged with 31 other charges of money-laundering.
In the four latest charges, Syed Shareezally was alleged to have laundered the money he had taken from illegal deposit collection by investing it in the CIMB Islamic Global Emerging Markets equity fund between July 21, 2008 and August 14, 2008.
The father of four was charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLATFA) 2001.
If found guilty, he can be fined up to RM5mil or jailed up to five years or both.
Balqis Aini allowed the four charges to be heard together with the 31 previous charges at the Seremban Sessions Court after Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Farez Rahman appealed for the move.
She also allowed Syed Shareezally’s bail to be reduced from RM500,000 to RM200,000 with one surety.
One of Syed Shareezally’s lawyer, Mohd Fadly Hashim, said his client’s family could not afford the bail because his wife was unemployed.
“Syed Shareezally also has four children, with the youngest only about a-year-and-a-half,” he told the court.
The mention for the laundering charges at the Seremban Sessions Court was fixed for March 29.