SHAH ALAM, Sept 9 — A former accountant of GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH) pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court today to nine charges of money laundering involving RM3.89 million.
Hamimah Yakub, 73, claimed trial after all the charges were read out to her before Judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud.
She was charged with receiving RM3,618,527.86 from unlawful activities through five transactions, including from her personal bank account, a supermarket’s bank account, and a company’s account.
The accused was also charged with transferring RM271,863.62 derived from unlawful activities in four transactions, including to the account of GISB Mart Sdn Bhd, her personal account, and GISBH’s bank account.
All the offences were allegedly committed at bank branches in Selangor and Kedah between January 5, 2020, and January 29, 2021.
The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act, which provide for a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the proceeds or the value of the illicit activity, or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Izham Mohd Marzuki proposed bail of RM1 million, but Hamimah’s lawyer Datuk Rosli Kamaruddin requested it be set at RM5,000 or for the court to adopt the existing bail already imposed on his client, who is also facing charges under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code.
The court granted interim bail of RM5,000, noting that a higher amount would complicate documentation and lead to her detention.
“When this note (decision) was made at 3.17pm, and considering that the counter closes at 4pm, the court will allow interim bail until a final amount is determined.
“Furthermore, the prosecution has informed that Hamimah will be facing 60 more charges tomorrow, and the full bail process will be carried out then,” he said.
Tomorrow, the same court is also expected to hear several money laundering charges involving three other accused, including GISBH chief executive officer Nasiruddin Mohd Ali.
