KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): A company director plead not guilty to eight charges of fraud and money laundering involving RM5.1 million through a glove sales transaction five years ago at the Sessions Court here.

R Gopinatan Pillai, 60, was charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code with one count of defrauding an individual to believe that 150,000 boxes of Hartalega branded Coats nitrile examination gloves were available at Hartalega Sdn Bhd for sale and to be handed over to Aspen Broadway Sdn Bhd, owned by the accused, even though the gloves did not exist.

His actions resulted in the victim handing over RM5.1 million through a law firm to the account owned by another law firm appointed by Aspen Broadway. The offence is said to be committed at a condominium along Jalan Tun Ismail near here on Nov 9, 2020.

He is also charged with six counts of transferring RM5,005,000 from the illegal activity from his company (Aspen Broadway) bank account to several other companies’ accounts and his personal account and one charge of receiving money from illegal activities totalling RM5.1 million from the law firm’s account to his company’s account.

All seven offences, charged under Paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, punishable under SubSection 4(1) of the same Act, are said to be committed at several banks in Sentul here between Nov 10, 2020 and Feb 6, 2021.

Deputy public prosecutor Chow Siang Kong offered bail of RM2.5 million with two sureties for all charges with the additional condition that the accused’s passport be handed over to the court till the case is settled after taking into account the high losses of RM5.1 million involved.

Lawyer K Komagan representing Gopinatan Pillai requested for a low bail on the reason that his client was the main provider of his family and had cooperated well with the police during the investigation.

Judge Hamidah Mohamed Deril allowed bail of RM280,000 for all charges with two sureties with the additional condition that the accused report to the police station and that his passport be handed to the court till the completion of the case and set case re-mention for March 26.

Uploaded by Felyx Teoh