BERSATU chairman Muhyiddin Yassin will apply to set aside three money laundering charges amounting to about RM200 million linked to the Jana Wibawa programme. 

Lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told sessions court judge Azura Alwi today the application would be filed as soon as possible. 

“The application to set aside (the charges) will be made under Section 173(g) of the Criminal Procedure Code,” he said. 

Section 173(g) allows a court to discharge an accused if it considers the charges groundless. 

The matter was made known to the court by Muhyiddin’s defence team during a mention of the prosecution’s application for a joint trial of the abuse of power and money laundering cases that Muhyiddin is facing. 

Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin informed Azura that the High Court had allowed Muhyiddin’s application to strike out the four charges alleging that he abused his position to obtain bribes totalling RM232.5 million for Bersatu. 

In August, the Kuala Lumpur High Court quashed Muhyiddin’s four abuse of power charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.  

Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin ruled that the charges were defective and were not strong enough as it did not disclose his alleged offence under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. 

Muhyiddin was previously charged with four counts of using his position as the prime minister and Bersatu president to ask for a RM200 million bribe from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd at the Prime Minister’s Department Complex, Federal Government Administrative Centre, Putrajaya between February 8 and 25, 2021. 

The four charges were framed under section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, which carries a maximum of 20 years’ jail, or a fine of five times the value of the money solicited, or RM10,000, whichever is higher. – September 19, 2023.