FORMER Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) managing director and vice-executive chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor has been charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT).
According to media reports, Ramli pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today to three counts of CBT amounting to RM21.08 bil under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
The Penal Code section provides for a maximum 20-year jail term, whipping and a fine if found guilty.
Ramli’s first charge was over the allegedly fraudulent approval of transactions amounting to RM13,541,140 to an account belonging to Syarikat Setaria Holding Limited, from July 26, 2010, to March 25, 2011.
For the second charge, Ramli was accused of fraudulently approving payment worth RM1,360,716 to an account belonging to JSD Corporation Pte Ltd, sometime between April 19 and May 4, 2011.
As for the third charge, Ramli was said to have fraudulently approved payment amounting to RM6,182,295 to Sousmarin Armada Ltd, between Oct 28 and Nov 22, 2010.
All three transactions, which were made to Singaporean bank accounts from Boustead’s office in Kuala Lumpur, did not have the approval of the company board.
Boustead was the contractor that got the RM9 bil contract to build six littoral combat ships (LCS) for the Royal Malaysian Navy. Ramli, 78, is also a former navy chief.
“Latest scandal”
The LCS project has since been dubbed the latest scandal for Malaysia after it was revealed that none of the ships have been received yet – despite RM6 bil already forked out and four years having passed since the project started.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) recently said it completed its investigation into the LCS scandal for alleged graft and recommended charges to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
Accordingly to Malaysiakini, Ramli’s charges are believed to be linked to the LCS scandal.
Meanwhile, Judge Suzana Hussain set bail at RM500,000 after the defence did not oppose the amount when it was proposed by the prosecution.
She also fixed Nov 24 for case mention and ordered Ramli to surrender his passport until his case is completed.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin appeared for the prosecution, while Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abidin acted for Ramli. – Aug 16, 2022
