KUALA LUMPUR – The sessions court here today allowed the prosecution’s application to jointly try the money laundering and corruption charges related to the Jana Wibawa project faced by former Bersatu information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd ‘Afif Ali requested to transfer the money laundering case to be jointly heard with the corruption case before judge Rozina Ayob in this court.
Wan Saiful’s lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad did not object to the application.
The Bersatu man was previously charged with 18 counts of money laundering involving RM5.59 million before judge Suzana Hussin and two charges of soliciting and accepting bribes of RM6.9 million before Rozina.
‘Afif informed the court that the prosecution would be calling 32 witnesses to testify during the trial and requested that the trial dates of March 11 and 12, 2024 set previously be vacated for the preparation of documents.
Rozina maintained the trial dates for March 25 to 27; April 29 and 30; and May 20 and 21 next year, and added dates on June 19 to 21; June 24 and 25; July 10 to 12, as well as August 8 and 9.
Wan Saiful, 47, allegedly solicited bribes from one Lian Tan Chuan as an inducement to help Nepturis Sdn Bhd secure the RM232-million Central Spine Road: Sertik to East Coast Highway Interchange project from the government in the pre-qualification stage.
He is also accused of accepting RM6,962,694.54 in cash for himself through his company WSA Advisory Group Sdn Bhd’s CIMB Bank account from the Maybank Islamic account belonging to Nepturis, as a reward for helping the company obtain a letter of acceptance for the project.
The two offences were allegedly committed at the Royal Lake Club, Taman Tasik Perdana here, in April 2022 and at the Bukit Tunku branch of CIMB Bank, Taman Tunku, Bukit Tunku here between July 8 and September 30, 2022.
Wan Saiful was also charged with 18 counts of money laundering involving RM5.59 million by transferring and using the illegal proceeds to pay for the purchase of a Ford Ranger, making payments to the National Sports Council as well as transferring money to several company accounts, including one belonging to Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd.
The offences were allegedly committed at CIMB’s Bukit Tunku Branch here between August 12 and November 13, 2022, and the charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. – December 1, 2023