Umno lawyer Hafarizam conditionally discharged in RM15m money-laundering case, prosecutors say will file charges anew

Lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur High Court August 3, 2020. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Umno legal adviser Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun was today conditionally discharged in the High Court over his two money-laundering charges for allegedly depositing RM15 million in illegal funds via three cheques from Datuk Seri Najib Razak into his law firm's client account.

However, Hafarizam is set to be charged again today at the Sessions Court.

Today was scheduled to be the first day of Hafarizam’s trial, but the prosecution this morning informed the High Court of its intention to ask for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in this case in order to file fresh charges against him.

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Ishak Mohd Yusoff this morning told the court: “The case is fixed for hearing for whole of three weeks and the prosecution asks for all the charges to be discharged not amounting to acquittal and soon after that we will be charging the accused in the lower court.”

Ishak confirmed to the High Court that the fresh charges against Hafarizam in the Sessions Court will amount to new charges, explaining that the prosecution intends to split up the two transactions in the current first charge against Hafarizam for money-laundering into two new charges.

This is due to the different dates of the two transactions in April 2014 and November 2014, as the version of the money-laundering laws in effect on those two dates are different.

Hafarizam’s lawyer, Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican, confirmed that the defence has filed an application to have High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali recused or removed from hearing this case.

“But I would withdraw the application rather than having it struck out, with liberty to file afresh since the matter has not been disposed on merits,” Hasnal Rezua said, adding that Hafarizam’s lawyers would retain the liberty to file the recusal application again if his new case is transferred to the High Court and is heard before Mohd Nazlan again.

After hearing both sides, Mohd Nazlan then gave a DNAA order for Hafarizam’s case.

“After having heard the oral application by Datuk Ishak for the prosecution to withdraw the charges against the accused in this case, this court orders the accused to be DNAA in respect of the two charges currently before this court. This is to enable prosecution to file afresh new charges against the accused in sessions court as mentioned by the DPP.

“The application for my recusal is therefore recorded as being withdrawn by the defence,” the judge added.

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