KUALA LUMPUR: Hollywood producer, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz today failed in his bid to transfer his US$248 million (RM1.25 billion) money laundering case from the Sessions Court to the High Court.
Riza, the stepson of former prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was alleged to have misappropriated the money from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds.
High Court judge, Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali dismissed the application, saying the Sessions Court judges were no less competent to hear the case and very experienced to try such cases.
He said the judges were also able to deal with other possible arising issues such as Mutual Assistance in the Criminal Matters Act 2002.
“There are no concerns about the principle of equality before the law since the real issue is the need to comply with the pre-requisites of Section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPC) that must be established first.
“Furthermore, the difference in the forum of the trial does not cause any prejudice to the applicant (Riza),” he said in dismissing the application.
He added that it was not expedient in the ends of justice if the transfer of a case does not promote judicial efficiency and causes delay in the commencement of trials.
Earlier, Riza’s counsel Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh in his submissions said legal principles would be established in the case and it would be appropriate for the High Court to try such matters since foreign evidence may be adduced as the alleged offences occurred outside the country.
He added that since the case involves complex issues, it could likely trigger the question of law of unusual difficulty.
“It is quite evident that the 1MDB cases (involving other accused) involve complex issues.
"In the circumstances, if all other related 1MDB cases are transferred to the High Court, why not this,” he said, adding that it would be expedient for the case to be tried at the High Court.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram objected to the application saying that all the points raised by the defence can be equally dealt with by the Sessions Court.
On July 5, Riza pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court to five charges of involvement in money laundering activities involving US$248 million (RM1.25 billion), which were misappropriated from the sovereign wealth fund.
According to the charges, Riza, popularly known as Riza Aziz, allegedly received proceeds from unlawful activities that originated from 1MDB amounting to US$248,173,104, which was transferred into two of Red Granite Productions Inc’s accounts via wire transfer.
Two transactions of US$1,173,104 and US$9,000,000 were made from an account belonging to Good Star Ltd at RBS Coutts Bank, Zurich, Switzerland.
The other three transactions of US$133,000,000, US$60,000,000 and US$45,000,000 came from an account belonging to Aabar Investments PJS Limited at BSI SA Lugano, Switzerland.
The offences were allegedly committed at the City National Bank, Los Angeles Main, 525 South Flower Street, Los Angeles, California, the United States, and at BSI Bank Ltd, 7 Temasek Boulevard, #32-01 Suntec Tower One, Singapore, between April 12, 2011 and Nov 14, 2012.
The charges were framed under Section 41(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which carries a fine not exceeding RM5 million or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.