Malaysia's ex-PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob charged with failing to declare assets

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob faces charges of failing to declare assets, marking the third former premier to be prosecuted for alleged graft-related offenses in recent years. Ismail Sabri, who served as prime minister for just over 15 months during a period of political instability from 2021 to 2022, is accused of concealing assets that included local and foreign currencies, as well as gold and silver bars.

His defense counsel, Amer Hamzah Arshad, stated at a press conference that the charge essentially relates to 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," Arshad said.

Ismail Sabri pleaded not guilty at a lower court in Kuala Lumpur and was released on 300,000 ringgit ($74,534) bail. If convicted, he could face up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 100,000 ringgit ($24,828).

These charges follow an investigation by the anti-graft agency, which in March last year reported that Ismail Sabri had submitted an assets declaration after being ordered to do so. This was part of an inquiry into alleged graft and money laundering, which led to the seizure of nearly $40 million in assets reportedly linked to him. At the time, the agency stated that cash amounting to 170 million ringgit ($42.2 million) in various currencies and 16 kg of gold bars were seized following raids.

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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.