IPOH: A former director of Blue Valley Plantation Bhd claimed trial in a Sessions Court here to eight charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM1.04mil.
S. Pannirselvam, 62, was said to have committed the offences at legal firm Ong Keong Huat & Co in Taman Chateau here on Aug 8, 2007 and the Ayer Tawar Public Bank branch on June 27, 2008.
Pannirselvam faces a maximum fine of RM5mil or five years jail, or both, in each of the four charges brought against him under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.
He faces another five years jail and whipping, with a possible fine if found guilty of each of the four offences of committing criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
It was reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was investigating the sale of land in Cameron Highlands involving millions of ringgit.
According to a group of 24 affected farmers, the National Land Finance Cooperative had sold about 203.2ha of land there for RM10.8mil to a company set up by over 70 buyers in 1989.
Between 1989 and 1994, as the land had only one title, work was undertaken by the company directors to carry out the necessary legal processes to sub-divide the land to the rightful owners.
However, in 1995, some of the shareholders decided to sell off their plots.
A former company director then obtained proxy signatures as well as the land title, and managed to sell the farmers' lots over.
However, sale from the lots never went into the company's account.
Sessions Judge Rihaida Rafie set bail at RM100,000 in one surety pending mention on June 23.
Pannirselvam posted bail.
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