Facing the law: Abu Sahid is facing five criminal breach of trust charges involving RM458.5mil.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here has allowed business tycoon Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed temporary access to his passport for him to travel to London next month.
Judge Suzana Hussin made the order for Abu Sahid’s passport to be returned to him and surrendered back to the court by Jan 30.
Abu Sahid, 74, is travelling to the United Kingdom between Jan 12 and Jan 28 to send his daughter to a university in London.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry applied for the court to impose an additional condition on Abu Sahid, barring him from accessing his bank accounts in the United Kingdom throughout the trip.
Abu Sahid’s lawyer Jasbeer Singh Kaura, however, objected on the grounds that the prosecution has no real information on the said bank accounts.
Judge Suzana then dismissed the application by the prosecution.
Abu Sahid, who is a Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd director, was charged with five counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM458.5mil at two banks in Taman Tunku and Taman Serdang Perdana between May 3, 2016, and Oct 21, 2019.
The charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code carry a maximum imprisonment of 20 years, whipping and fine, if convicted.
For the first 10 money laundering charges, he is accused of transferring RM116,449,536.12 from his bank account to the accounts of five individuals and four construction companies between May 4, 2016, and Oct 29, 2019.
For the 11th to the 13th money laundering charges, he allegedly disposed of proceeds from illegal activities amounting to RM22,802,612.86 by cashing multiple cheques between May 4, 2016, and Sept 19, 2018.
The charges under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, carry prison time of up to 15 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of proceeds from illegal activities or RM5mil, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
