KUALA LUMPUR – Three officers linked with non-governmental organisation Aman Palestin Bhd will be charged in court tomorrow with more than 100 counts related to money laundering and misappropriation of funds, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said.
The trio, aged between 40 and 50, will be charged at the Shah Alam sessions court tomorrow morning, said the MACC in a statement to the media.
“The MACC has arrested three suspects who were investigated on suspicion of being involved in money laundering arising from the misappropriation of public funds donated to Aman Palestin,” the agency said in its official media chat group.
“The three, including one who is a chief executive officer of a company, will be charged at the sessions court in Shah Alam at 9am tomorrow with over 100 charges.”
The three suspects were arrested at about 11.30 this morning at the MACC’s Putrajaya office, where they were summoned for their statements.
Investigations have found that the three allegedly committed the offences between 2018 and 2023.
In October last year, Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin raised doubts about Aman Palestin’s fundraising activities, and was reported in Bahasa Malaysia media as having written to the Perlis Islamic Affairs Department asking it to halt the collection of funds for Palestine by the NGO at mosques and surau in the state.
In November, the MACC froze 41 Aman Palestin-linked bank accounts amounting to RM15.86 million as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in the NGO’s fundraising activities for Palestine.
In January, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the anti-graft agency was still investigating the veracity of Aman Palestin’s previous transactions and claims.
The graft busters also conducted a search at the organisation’s premises, obtaining financial and operational management documents spanning the past five years.
Initial investigations pointed to the alleged misappropriation of some RM70 million, with the funds having supposedly been diverted for purposes other than the organisation’s objectives.
Aman Palestin leaders filed a judicial review against the anti-graft agency for “malicious” attempts to tarnish the NGO’s reputation.
On February 6, it was reported that Aman Palestin’s bid to commence a judicial review against the MACC had been pushed to February 27 after senior federal counsel Nur Irmawatie Daud informed the court that the Attorney-General’s Chambers would be filing an objection against the application. – February 14, 2024