Court of Appeal Acquits Syed Saddiq of All Corruption Charges

The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya acquitted Syed Saddiq of all 4 charges today (June 25), namely criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property, and money laundering involving Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (ARMADA) funds.

The decision was made by a panel of three Court of Appeal judges – Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.

Here are the charges that Syed Saddiq was acquitted of:

1st charge

Syed Saddiq is accused of abetting the then Assistant Treasurer of Armada, Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with Armada funds amounting to RM1 million, to commit breach of trust by misusing the funds at CIMB Bank Berhad, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Sentral 2, here, on March 6, 2020.

2nd charge

Syed was suspected of misappropriating property for himself, namely RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic Berhad account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise by causing Rafiq Hakim to dispose of the money at Malayan Banking Berhad, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya between April 8 and 21, 2018.

3rd and 4th charges

He was also accused of engaging in money laundering activities, namely transferring RM50,000 each from his Maybank Islamic Berhad account to his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account, which was the proceeds of illegal activities.

When reading the decision, Judge Noorin, among other things, opined that the charge of abetting criminal breach of trust faced by Syed Saddiq was unfounded. He said the prosecution failed to prove Syed Saddiq’s dishonest intentions when he gave the order for RM1 million to be withdrawn from the Armada fund, reported Berita Harian and Astro Awani.

Previously, on November 9, 2023, the High Court sentenced Syed Saddiq to seven years in prison and two strokes of the cane, as well as a fine of RM10 million, after he was found guilty of the four charges. 

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