A former director of a private company has been sentenced to five years in prison after the Sessions Court found him guilty of illegally managing investment funds without a licence and engaging in money laundering involving more than RM1.26 million.
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said Sessions Court Judge Hamidah Mohamed Deril convicted former Kyaputen Sdn Bhd director Muhamad Fadzli Jamaludin after ruling that he had failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case. The court imposed a five-year jail term for each of the 12 charges and ordered all sentences to run concurrently.
Muhamad Fadzli was first charged by the SC on Nov 9, 2023 with three counts of carrying out fund management activities without a licence under Section 58(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA). He was later charged again on Nov 29, 2023 with nine counts of money laundering under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA). Both cases were heard together.
During the trial, the prosecution called 23 witnesses, including six victims who collectively suffered losses amounting to RM1.263 million. The offences were committed between August 2018 and April 2020 in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.
After being ordered to enter his defence, Muhamad Fadzli chose to testify under oath but did not call any additional witnesses in support of his case. The court ultimately found the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Under Section 58(1) of the CMSA, the offence of conducting fund management without a licence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM10 million, or both. Meanwhile, the money laundering offences carry a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of five times the value of the proceeds of the unlawful activity, or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
The SC’s prosecution team comprised Deputy Public Prosecutor K. Mageswary and prosecuting officers Low Wen Zhen, Jonathan Chin Ter Yang and Mark Rohan Mahadevan, while Muhamad Fadzli was represented by lawyer B. Puvarasan.
