Former Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri charged with concealing assets

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was charged on Thursday with ​failure to declare assets, the third former premier prosecuted in ‌recent years over alleged graft-related offences. Ismail Sabri, who was Malaysia’s prime minister for just over 15 months from 2021 to 2022 during a period of political upheaval, ​was accused of concealing assets that consisted of local and ​foreign currencies as well as gold bars and silver. Ismail Sabri’s ⁠defence counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad said at a press conference that ​the charge was essentially a failure to comply with a notice to ​declare certain assets. “We will be studying the charge, and as we informed the court, we are raising certain concerns about the propriety and legality of the charge ​, but we won’t go into detail here, ” he said. Ismail Sabri pleaded ​not guilty at a lower court in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and was released ‌on ⁠300, 000 ringgit ($74, 534) bail. If convicted, he faces jail of up to five years and a fine of up to 100, 000 ringgit. The anti-graft agency in March last year said Ismail Sabri had submitted an assets declaration after ​being ordered to ​do so as ⁠part of its investigation into alleged graft and money laundering, following the seizure of nearly $40 million in assets ​allegedly linked to him. Cash amounting to 170 million ringgit ​in ⁠various currencies and 16 kg of gold bars were seized following the raids, the agency said at the time. A trained lawyer, Ismail Sabri has served ⁠in ​various roles in politics, including lawmaker and ​cabinet minister under three prime ministers, with portfolios that included rural and regional development, agriculture ​and domestic trade.

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