A construction company director has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court today to 11 charges involving land fraud and money laundering amounting to more than RM3.7 million.
A. Rama Rao, 65, entered his plea after the charges were read before Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin.
For the first charge, as director of RV Global Sdn Bhd, he is accused of deceiving an industrial company into transferring 3.24 hectares of land in Serendah, Hulu Selangor. He allegedly misrepresented himself as a representative of 136 former Serendah estate workers, causing the company to proceed with the transfer it would not have otherwise agreed to.
The offence is said to have taken place at an industrial company in Shah Alam on July 18, 2007, and is charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
He also faces additional charges for allegedly being involved in two land ownership transfers linked to RV Global Sdn Bhd to Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd, involving plots measuring 0.216 hectares and 0.6158 hectares. The transactions were carried out at the Federal Land and Mines Department in Selangor on July 18, 2023 and November 19, 2024.
Rama Rao is further accused of money laundering involving multiple transactions between December 30, 2024 and December 30, 2025. The alleged transfers include sums of RM318,605, RM24,000, RM136,000, RM130,000, RM100,000, RM2 million, RM700,000 and RM300,000, channelled into various accounts including company accounts, fixed deposits, investment accounts, as well as accounts belonging to his wife, child and relatives.
The two land-related charges fall under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, read together with Section 87(1)(a) of the same Act, which provides for penalties under Section 4(1). The remaining eight charges are framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the same Act.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the illegal proceeds or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Asmaa’ Zamri from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) proposed bail of RM100,000 for all charges, along with conditions including surrendering his passport, reporting to the MACC office and avoiding contact with prosecution witnesses.
Defence counsel M Teeruvarasu requested a lower bail, stating that the accused suffers from kidney disease requiring treatment three times a week and is the sole caregiver for his 63-year-old wife. He also said the accused had fully cooperated during investigations and had no prior criminal record.
The court set bail at RM80,000 with additional conditions as requested by the prosecution. The case will be mentioned again on June 10.
