Malaysia court slaps 164 charges on heads of pro-Palestinian NGO over US$17 million in misused funds
- Aman Palestin’s executive chairman, CEO and director face a range of charges, including criminal breach of trust, cheating and money laundering
- The saga has enraged the Malaysian public, with many having expressed solidarity with Muslims in the Middle East affected by the war in Gaza
Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur High Court on Thursday slapped 164 charges on the leaders of a local pro-Palestinian NGO for misappropriating some 85 million ringgit (US$17 million) sourced from public donations.
The move came after the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) froze dozens of bank accounts belonging to Aman Palestin in November, as part of a probe into long-standing allegations of funds abuse, which uncovered four 1kg gold bars at the non-profit organisation’s office.
Aman Palestin’s executive chairman, Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman, and chief executive officer, Awang Sufian Awang Piut, both pleaded not guilty to 161 charges of criminal breach of trust, cheating and money laundering, amounting to 79 million ringgit.
Meanwhile, its director Khairudin Mohd Ali pleaded not guilty to three charges of money laundering amounting to 6 million ringgit.
If convicted, they face a maximum jail sentence of 20 years for each charge of breach of trust, up to 15 years for each money-laundering charge, and up to 10 years for each of the cheating charges, aside from fines of not less than five times the offence amount.
The court spent more than 90 minutes reading through the 89-page summary of charges before Judge Anita Harun.
Aman Palestin’s chair and chief executive were each released on 1 million ringgit bail (US$210,000), while the director’s bail was set at 200,000 ringgit.