Former prime minister Ismail Sabri had pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) notice requiring him to declare his assets.
Sabri, who served as the ninth prime minister from August 2021 to November 2022, entered the plea before judge Suzana Hussin at the KL Sessions Court this morning.
List of assets
According to the charge sheet, Sabri allegedly failed to comply with an MACC notice requiring him to declare assets comprising of the following currencies:
- RM14,772,150
- S$6,132,350
- US$1,461,400
- CHF3 million
- €12,164,150
- ¥363 million
- £50,250
- NZ$44,600
- AED34.75 million
- A$352,850
Aside from these currencies, Sabri’s assets also included a 5kg Suisse fine gold bar, a 100g Suisse fine silver bar and a 5g 999-gold coin, reported NST.
Sabri, who is also Bera MP, faces a maximum five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to RM100,000 upon conviction under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009.
Delayed court proceedings
Previously, Sabri was scheduled to be charged on Aug 7, but it was delayed after he was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN) a day before.
His lawyer, Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, later told the court that Sabri had experienced health complications while having his statement recorded by the MACC on Aug 6.
He added doctors suspected that Sabri had an irregular heartbeat and that he was scheduled to undergo a procedure to have a pacemaker implanted.
Prior to this, Sabri was questioned intensively by MACC several times over his connection with an investigation into alleged corruption and money laundering.
This comes after approximately RM170 million and 16kg of gold bullion, then valued at nearly RM7 million, were seized during searches at several locations following investigations into four senior officers who had served under Sabri.
