AGC: Prosecution against Musa not tenable after ex-AG's affidavit

KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has defended its decision to withdraw the prosecution against former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, citing an affidavit by former AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as one of the factors.

In a statement, Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun (pic) said on June 5, the AGC received an affidavit which was filed at the High Court by Musa.

The affidavit was affirmed by Abdul Gani, who held office between 2002 and 2015, supporting an application by Musa to quash all the charges against him.

“The former AG defended the decision taken in 2012 to take no further action against Musa, as investigations revealed the monies involved were political funding,” he said on Tuesday (June 9).

According to Idrus, Abdul Gani had also stated that the decision to take no further action was made collectively by AGC’s former head of prosecution division Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamad and former MACC investigation division director Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.

“After studying and perusing the investigation paper from a legal standpoint, the former AG, in his discretion, decided not to proceed with prosecution.

“In light of the representation and the recent development in the form of the affidavit by the former AG, it is the responsibility of this department to review the whole evidence for this case, ” he added.

Idrus said he decided to withdraw all the charges against Musa after studying the whole available evidence and discussion with the prosecution and investigation team.

He also said documentary evidence was vital to prove a case of such nature.

“Documentary evidence from companies and banks which were expected could not be obtained through Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters from Hong Kong.

“The Department of Justice Hong Kong advised that companies and banks in Hong Kong are only required to keep records for seven years and it is highly unlikely that neither the banks nor the companies would still have the records,” he said, adding that some witnesses for the prosecution have passed away, suffered serious medical ailments or are not in Malaysia anymore.

Idrus said the recent development including the aforesaid affidavit in support that was filed has caused a situation where it was no longer tenable to continue with the prosecution of Musa.

“This decision is strengthened by a letter dated Dec 22,2011 from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Hong Kong stating that their investigation against Musa Aman is complete and on the basis of known facts no further investigative action will be pursued.

“My decision is taken in accordance with powers exercisable at my discretion under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution,” Idrus said.

Earlier, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted a discharge and acquittal on Musa after the prosecution said it wanted to withdraw all 46 charges against him.

Musa was first charged in November, 2018, with 35 counts of graft under Section 11(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 for accepting gratification by agent where he allegedly received a total of US$63mil (around RM243mil) in Hong Kong and Singapore as an inducement for offering timber concessions in Sabah.

In March, 2019, Musa was brought to court for the second time to face 16 charges of money laundering involving US$37.8mil and S$2.5mil, amounting to about RM160mil.

In October, 2019, the prosecution dropped five out of the 35 charges of graft against Musa and made amendments to the existing 30 charges then relating to the dates, transactions and names of contractors.

On May 13, this year, Musa sent a representation to the AGC seeking the case against him to be withdrawn and all charges to be quashed.