KUALA LUMPUR – Police probes into Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings’ money trail have revealed that revenue earned by the multinational conglomerate were channelled to its leaders’ individual bank accounts.
This, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said, was discovered through investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla), one of several laws police are using to investigate the group.
“Investigations under Amla involve tracking the money trail, which is a massive operation. (GISB’s) source of revenue comes from several clusters, which have a commitment to achieve a minimum daily collection of about RM70,000 a day.
“This money was not deposited into the company’s registered bank account. Instead, it was channelled to the individual bank accounts held by figures who are part of GISB Holding’s board of directors,” the minister told the Dewan Rakyat today during his winding-up speech at the end of a special briefing to MPs on the GISB issue.
The company’s business “clusters” were divided into several zones, Saifuddin Nasution said, and police are working on tracking the source of the funds and where it was spent.
Some company assets that have been seized by police to date were purchased using cash instead of bank loans, he added.
Police began Op Global against GISB with raids on welfare homes on September 11, after months of collecting intelligence.
On September 23, police announced they had frozen 153 GISB Holdings-linked bank accounts worth RM882,795.94 and shut down 15 other accounts, out of a total 183 accounts identified as being tied to the company.
It was previously reported that GISB Holdings had 415 business outlets in 20 countries in a variety of sectors under 25 subsidiaries.
Defending Sosma
Saifuddini Nasution again defended the authorities’ use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to detain a number of GISBH figures, stressing that investigations have been carried out according to existing laws.
The minister said that since there are elements of organised crime in the alleged offences committed by the movement, the use of Sosma is prescribed under Section 130V of the Penal Code on organised criminal groups.
He also said that police require the 28-day detention period afforded under Sosma due to the number of individuals arrested in this case and the number of laws involved in investigations.
To date, more than 400 people linked to GISB have been arrested with 58 of them held under Sosma.
Earlier on, lawmakers across the political divide took the government to task over its use of Sosma, with government backbencher Hassan Abdul Karim (Pasir Gudang-PH) and opposition whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (Kota Bharu-PN) accusing authorities of going “overboard”.
Both MPs said GISB is not considered a “terrorist” organisation, despite being accused of committing a variety of offences.
“They (GISBH) might have erred in terms of their (religious) faith, which is something that the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and state religious authorities can take action against. The same goes for the alleged child sexual abuse, which should also be punished.
“(However), I disagree with the use of Sosma (as) it is an act related to threats of violence against national security. Is GISBH’s deviant teachings a security offence?” Hassan, a government backbencher, said.
“They (GISBH figures detained under Sosma) are accompanied by (police personnel) holding M16 guns…are they terrorists like the ones in Lahad Datu?” he added.
Takiyuddin, who is also PAS secretary-general, pointed out that Pakatan Harapan is known to have protested against Sosma during its time as the opposition.
He also stressed that the offences allegedly committed by GISBH members could be investigated and prosecuted under other existing laws based on the nature of the crime.
Civil society group CSO Platform for Reform had previously strongly urged authorities to refrain from detaining individuals without trial under Sosma, a view shared by former Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah.
Maria, a former Sosma detainee herself, argued that the use of “draconian legislation” such as Sosma is merely a cop-out by the police to prolong investigations. – October 15, 2024