FORMER Tabung Haji (TH) chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim will be charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court tomorrow in relation to deals involving the pilgrimage fund.

“The charge is related to TH. He will be charged at 9am at the KL Sessions Court,” a source from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) told The Malaysian Insight.

The MACC later issued a statement that Azeez’s brother Abdul Latif will also be charged with him.

Both were arrested at 4.30pm today at the MACC headquarters where they had been called for further questioning.

The charges will be under the MACC Act and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.

Azeez became TH chairman in 2013 after being elected as Baling MP under the Barisan Nasional government. He is still the federal seat’s lawmaker.

He was still chairman when TH bought a plot of land from RM189 million from debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) in 2015 at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).

The deal was controversial as TH had bought the land at below-market price and the purchase was speculated to be a bailout for 1MDB.

He resigned as TH chairman on May 14 last year, after Pakatan Harapan won the general election and took over the federal government.

The same month, MACC launched investigations into Azeez, raiding three of his properties and seizing RM500,000 in cash, watches and nearly RM1.2 million in other currencies.

Azeez has said the money belonged to Baling Umno and that he had withdrawn the sum for zakat payments ahead of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

In September, he was remanded for 10 days and released on bail of RM500,000. – January 15, 2019.