KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution will amend the charges in the RM100 million criminal breach of trust (CBT) case against former Sime Darby Berhad president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubair @ Ahmad Zubir Murshid.
Deputy public prosecutor Anthony Kevin Morais told Sessions Court judge Datuk Jagjit Singh Bant Singh yesterday that he would submit the amended charges on Nov 9.
“The prosecution will submit the amended charges to the defense on Nov 5,” he added.
Ahmad Zubair is represented by lawyers Stanley Augustin and Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden.
On July 17, Ahmad Zubair, 55, pleaded not guilty to two counts of CBT in a Native Customary Rights (NCR) land development project in Sarawak, causing the company to incur losses of more than RM100 million.
He also pleaded guilty to two alternative charges of deceiving the company’s board of directors on the same project.
On the first count, he was charged with CBT for deceitfully failing to take legal action or instruct to take legal action
to rectify the award of the NCR land to a private company named Vertical Drive Sdn Bhd.
Ahmad Zubair had allegedly obtained the approval of the Sarawak government for the NCR land, under the Sarawak Expansion Plan, on behalf of Sime Darby, in his capacity as president and CEO.
He had allegedly been entrusted with the company funds to acquire the land located in KJD/Lower Julau, Sg. Julau/Sg Pitoh/Sg Jiet and part of Merurun/Meluan/Entabai, Sarikei in Sarawak.
The accused had instead allegedly caused Sime Darby to lose RM85,023,047.20 in the form of a Maybank cheque in the process of acquiring the NCR land from Vertical Drive.
The second count involved CBT of company funds involving NCR land at the confluence of Btg Rejang/Btg Baleh rivers in Kapit and the remaining eastern half of Merurun/Meluan/Entabai in Julau.
Ahmad Zubair was charged with failing to take legal action or instruct to take legal action to rectify the award of the NCR land to another company, Nature Ambience Sdn Bhd, thereby causing Sime Darby a loss of RM16,816,217 in the acquiring the same.
He faces up to 20 years in prison, caning and is liable to fine, upon conviction under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
For the two alternatives charges, Ahmad Zubair was charged with deceiving the Sime Darby board of directors in his capacity as the company’s president and CEO at the time, who was entrusted with obtaining the approval for the NCR land.
He was charged with not informing the board of directors that the NCR land approved to Sime Darby had been awarded to Vertical Drive and Nature Ambience, knowing it could cause losses when they took over the two companies.
He faces up to seven years in prison or fine or both, upon conviction under Section 418 of the Penal Code.
All the offences were allegedly committed at the Sime Darby Berhad office in Wisma Sime Darby, Jalan Raja Laut here between Nov 17, 2008 and Dec 4, 2009. — Bernama