Court allows review bid, ex-senior cop freed of RM3.35mil money laundering charges

PUTRAJAYA: A former senior police officer is a free man after the Court of Appeal here acquitted and discharged him from eight charges of money laundering involving a total sum of RM3.35mil.

A three-member panel of judges chaired by Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera made the decision after allowing 60-year-old deputy superintendent Mohd Ismail Syed Merah’s application to review another Court of Appeal’s verdict in March last year which sentenced him to 10 years in jail and fined RM42mil for all charges.

Justice Vazeer in a unanimous decision, said the court agreed with the Johor Baru Sessions Court which found the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against Mohd Ismail.

“Therefore, we set aside a High Court order and reinstate the Sessions Court ruling to acquit and discharge him from all charges,” said Justice Vazeer, who sat with Justices Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk Azmi Ariffin.

Justice Vazeer also ordered that the RM3.35mil seized be forfeited to the government as proceeds from illegal activities under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act but said the forfeiture was subject to Section 55 of the anti-money laundering law which allows bona fide third parties to file claims for the money in the Sessions Court.

On Dec 2, 2022 the Court of Appeal allowed Mohd Ismail’s application for leave to review his conviction under Rule 105 Court of Appeal Rules 1994 in seeking the court to rehear his appeal.

On March 22, 2022 a different Court of Appeal dismissed Mohd Ismail’s appeal against his conviction and sentence and increased his jail sentence from four years to 10 years and ordered him to pay a total fine of RM42mil in default 48 months’ jail after allowing the cross appeal by the prosecution.

Mohd Ismail faced five charges of using monies obtained from unlawful activities, involving RM10,143.37, RM40,000, RM6,283.09, RM993,716.91 and RM500,000 respectively, to buy and increase investments in Takafullife Insurance Protection Plan and Takafulink Plan registered under his daughter’s name, Nur Aqillah Mohd Ismail.

He also faced two other charges of committing money laundering, involving RM499,620 and RM29,950, using a third party account belonging to one Tan Kim Tee.

Mohd Ismail allegedly committed the offences at the MAA Takaful Building, Jalan Tun Razak, Johor Bahru and in two bank premises, namely RHB and CIMB banks at Jalan Rahmat near Batu Pahat, Johor between Sept 4, 2014 and Dec 28, 2015.

Mohd Ismail faced the eighth charge of possessing RM1.27mil and 8,178,000 rupiah in his house which were proceeds from unlawful activities.

In 2019, Mohd Ismail was acquitted and discharged by the Johor Baru Sessions Court of all the money laundering charges.

However in 2020, the High Court convicted him on all the charges and sentenced him to four years jail for each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Deputy public prosecutors Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar and Mohd Fairuz Johari appeared for the prosecution.

Meanwhile, when met after the proceeding, Mohd Ismail’s counsel Datuk Wan Azmir Wan Majid said his client, who retired as a deputy superintendent in May will be entitled to his pension, backdated salary and allowances. – BK