Zahid faces another 33 graft charges

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been charged with another 33 counts of bribery involving RM42.76mil over a foreign visa system (VLN).

He faces 26 counts under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and seven counts under Section 165 of the Penal Code relating to offences involving receiving bribes in multiple currencies.

For offences under the MACC Act, Zahid allegedly received a total of S$9,320,000 (RM2,8563,470).

For the remaining offences under the Penal Code, he allegedly received RM3,125,000; S$1,150,000 (RM3,524,462); €15,000 (RM70,740); U$15,000 (RM62,257).

The offences were allegedly committed between 2014 and 2017.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is the Bagan Datuk MP, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out before Sessions Court judge Rozilah Salleh here on Thursday (June 28).

The court set bail at RM500,000 in one surety and the case is fixed for mention on July 29.

This new set of charges brings the total court charges he faces up to 87, the most faced by an Umno party leader so far.

More to come