A religious preacher and social media influencer pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here today to 34 charges of criminal breach of trust involving funds belonging to a non-governmental organisation (NGO), as well as 17 money laundering charges involving more than RM15.4 million.
Abdullah Abdol Razak, 40, entered the plea before Sessions Court Judge Datin M Kunasundary after all 51 charges were read out to him separately. The proceedings took more than an hour.
The 34 criminal breach of trust charges relate to RM13,847,535.89 in funds belonging to Pertubuhan Rezeki Infaq Malaysia (PRIM), of which Abdullah is chairman. He is accused of dishonestly authorising payments into several bank accounts, including his own, without approval from the NGO’s general meeting.
The alleged offences were committed between Feb 28, 2023 and March 31, 2026 at a bank in the district. Abdullah was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which carries between two and 20 years in prison, whipping and a possible fine upon conviction.
He also faces 17 money laundering charges involving RM1.56 million, allegedly derived from unlawful activities. The funds were said to have been transferred from several bank accounts, including Abdullah’s, into other accounts to finance gold purchases between May 18, 2024 and Feb 24, 2026.
The money laundering charges were brought under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. A conviction carries a maximum 15-year jail term and a fine of at least five times the value of the proceeds involved or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court that the offences were non-bailable but proposed bail of RM1 million should the court allow it, with two Malaysian sureties who were not family members.
Defence lawyer Azrul Zulkifli Stork appealed for a lower amount, saying Abdullah is married and has 11 children aged between four and 15. He also owns a restaurant and earns an inconsistent income as an influencer, depending largely on content-related work.
The defence argued that the proposed bail was excessive as Abdullah’s bank accounts had already been frozen. The court subsequently granted bail of RM700,000 with two Malaysian sureties aged above 21, comprising RM400,000 secured and RM300,000 unsecured.
The court also ordered Abdullah to surrender his passport and prohibited him from contacting prosecution witnesses, either directly or through third parties. Failure to comply with the conditions would result in RM300,000 of the secured bail being forfeited.
Meanwhile, PRIM secretary Noor Sahira Abdullah, 30, also pleaded not guilty to a charge of abetting Abdullah in the alleged criminal breach of trust involving RM13,847,535.89.
She is accused of intentionally assisting Abdullah in transferring the funds through online banking into several accounts without approval from the NGO’s general meeting. The alleged offence took place between April 24, 2023 and March 28, 2026.
Noor Sahira was charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 409 of the same law. If convicted, she faces between two and 20 years in prison, whipping and a fine.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Syairah Aqilah Khalil proposed bail of RM250,000 with two Malaysian sureties and additional conditions.
Azrul, who also represented Noor Sahira, said she is married and has a five-month-old child, while also having to support her elderly parents who are unwell. He requested bail be reduced to RM150,000 with two sureties.
The court instead set bail at RM200,000 with two local sureties aged above 21, together with conditions similar to those imposed on Abdullah.
Both cases have been fixed for mention on Sept 28.
