KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman was charged with 35 counts of corruption involving USD63.3 million (RM263 million) in connection with timber concessions contracts in Sabah.
Musa was seen calm while he was standing inside the dock and he replied "claim trial" to each of the charge that was read to him before Judge Rozina Ayob.
According to the charges, he had received the bribes in his position as Sabah chief minister and chairman of Yayasan Sabah Board of Trustees.
The bribes were allegedly accepted by him as inducements to give timber concessions contracts to 16 companies.
The companies were Bountiful Returns Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Segar Tepat Sdn Bhd, JV Lestari Sdn Bhd, Tamabina Sdn Bhd, Sabapioneer Sdn Bhd, Danagaya Sdn Bhd, LR Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Lembah Mayang Sdn Bhd, Fast Progress Sdn Bhd, Maju Sinar Network Sdn Bhd, Eden Region Sdn Bhd, Gasing Selatan Sdn Bhd, Innokita Sdn Bhd, Tetap Simfoni Sdn Bhd, Asiatic Lumber Industries Sdn Bhd and Eramewa Sdn Bhd.
The offences were allegedly committed at banks and overseas financial institutions between Dec 20, 2004 and Nov 6, 2008.
Among them were HSBC bank, Claymore Plaza, Ocean Tower, Credit Suisse, Raffles Place, Citi Bank Kowloon, UBS AG Bank Central and JP Morgan Chase Manhattan Bank in Hong Kong, China and in Singapore.
The charges were framed under Section 11 (a) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and fine not less than five times the amount of bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram proposed a RM5 million bail to be imposed on the accused.
In pleading for leniency, Musa's counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad said his client has given full cooperation to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and is not a flight risk. He pleaded for RM1 million bail.
The court then allowed RM2 million bail in two sureties and ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the court.
The case will be up for mention on Dec 13.
Musa, who was clad in a black suit and songkok, arrived at the Courts Complex at 1.25pm and was escorted by several MACC officers.
Earlier today, the MACC had detained Musa Aman for several alleged graft cases at 10.05am, after receiving the green light from the Attorney-General's Chambers.