KUALA LUMPUR: A former Youth and Sports Ministry finance division's secretary and three company directors were today charged in three separate Sessions Courts with 191 counts of money laundering involving some RM16.6 million.
The four - Otman Arshad, 57; husband-and-wife Abdul Ghafar Abdurahiman and Siti Rohana Hussien, both 42; and Halmi Khalid, 35 - claimed trial to the charges before judges Allaudeen Ismail, Mohd Nasir Nordin and Sohaini Alias.
Otman faced 64 money laundering charges; Abdul Ghafar and Siti Rohana 63 charges each; while Halmi faced one.
Otman - who four weeks ago was charged in the same Sessions Court with 32 counts of misappropriating government funds totaling some RM38 million and falsifying documents - is alleged to have laundered some RM16.623 million between March 2012 and December 2015.
He was accused of transferring between RM50,000 and RM900,000 in each transaction, from the four bank accounts of Abdul Ghafar, Siti Rohana and Halmi's, into his own bank and credit card accounts.
Halmi was alleged to have transferred RM900,000 into Otman's bank account at RHB Plaza Damas 3, Sri Hartamas here, on December 10, last year.
Abdul Ghafar and Siti Rohana, who have four children aged between 10 and 16, were purported to have transferred some RM15.723 million between March 2012 and December last year, into Otman's credit card account.
Otman and Halmi were released on RM100,000 and RM60,000 bail in one surety each, while Abdul Ghafar and Siti Rohana were granted RM70,000 bail in one surety each.
All of them were ordered to surrender their passports to the court.
Otman and Halmi's case will come up for mention on May 31, while Abdul Ghafar and Siti Rohana's case was fixed for mention on May 24.
They were represented by counsel Fahmi Abd Moin, Ridha Abdah Subri and Wan Azmir Wan Majid.
Deputy public prosecutors from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi and Husmarudin Husin prosecuted.
Meanwhile today, Allaudeen had also set 20 days beginning Sept 19 for trial of Otman's earlier charge of misappropriating government funds and falsifying government documents.
The hearing will be from Sept 19 till 22; from Sept 27 till Sept 30; Oct 10 till Oct 13; Oct 18 till 21 and Nov 1 till Nov 4.
Over 30 witnesses will be called to testify during the trial.
Otman claimed trial to committing the offences under Sections 18 and 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, which also involves four companies, at the National Sports Council office between May 2, 2012 till 18 November 2015.