Ismail Sabri Faces Charges for Concealing Assets

Bangla Press Desk:  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.