GNANARAJA SLAPPED WITH 68 CHARGES
Businessman claims trial to money laundering amounting to RM11.4 million
BUSINESSMAN G. Gnanaraja — who was implicated in the Penang undersea tunnel scandal — was yesterday slapped with 68 money laundering charges involving RM11.4 million.
Gnanaraja, clad in a black suit, was heavily guarded by policemen when he was brought into the courtroom about 10am.
The 38-year-old claimed trial when all the charges were read to him by two court interpreters before Sessions Court judge Rozina Ayob.
According to the charge sheet, the highest amount of monies involved were payments of RM2.2
million to the Home Ministry on Sept 19, 2017 and RM2.4 million to Matthew Ong & Associates on Aug 28, 2017.
The former “Datuk Seri” was also alleged to have made several payments from illegal activities from a bank account to the Inland Revenue Board and the Home Ministry, 26 different companies and 10 individuals between July 2017 and January last year.
The offence falls under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA), which carries a maximum fine of up to RM5 million or a maximum jail term of five years.
Deputy public prosecutor Allan Suman Pillai applied for the case to be jointly tried with the accused’s previous charges of cheating at the Shah Alam High Court.
He also urged the court to impose RM50,000 bail and order the accused to surrender a land title to the court as part of his bail conditions.
Gnanaraja’s lawyer, Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent, did not object to the transfer of the case and agreed with the bail amount.
The accused had on April 3 claimed trial to three charges of cheating Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd’s managing director of RM19 million by claiming that he was able to settle a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.
Gnanaraja had on three occasions — twice in July 2017 and August the same year — allegedly cheated the company’s managing director into believing that he could assist him to close an investigation initiated by MACC under AMLA.
On the first and third counts, Gnanaraja was accused of dishonestly inducing the managing director into delivering RM2 million cash in July 2017 and another RM2 million cash in August the same year at the Eastin Hotel in Section 16, Petaling Jaya.
On the second count, Gnanaraja, on July 27, 2017 at CIMB Bank Berhad’s KLCC branch in Petronas Twin Tower in Jalan Ampang, was believed to have dishonestly induced the managing director into delivering RM15 million to him from a Maybank account belonging to Syarikat Vizione Construction Sdn Bhd to a CIMB Bank account belonging to Syarikat Bumi Muhibbah Capital Holding Sdn Bhd.
The court set May 6 for mention at the Shah Alam High Court.