PUTRAJAYA, March 9 — A North Korean businessman will face the prospect of being extradited to the United States of America to face money laundering charges after he failed in his final appeal to be set free.
A Federal Court three-member bench led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed Mun Chol-myong’s appeal to set aside the orders of the lower courts for him to be held in custody pending his extradition.
She said Mun’s lawyer Gooi Soon Seng had raised three issues which had been considered by the High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh, adding that the court found no reason to disagree with his (Ahmad Shahrir’s) decision.
The other two presiding judges today were Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.
Mun, 55, who has lived in Kuala Lumpur for more than 10 years with his family, was arrested in 2019 following a request from the government of the United States.
On May 3, 2019, the prosecution filed an application in the Magistrates’ Court for issuance of a provisional warrant of apprehension against Mun which was subsequently granted on the same day.
On June 10, 2019, the United States government made a formal request for the extradition of Mun through diplomatic channel to the Malaysian government.
In the extradition request, it was stated that Mun is a fugitive criminal who was required to attend a hearing in the United States following an arrest warrant issued on him for alleged conspiracy to launder money and for money laundering.
On December 13, 2019, the Sessions Court issued an order to commit Mun to Sungai Buloh Prison pending issuance of the surrender order from the Home Minister to the government of the United States.
Mun subsequently filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on December 12, 2019 seeking for his release from detention, which was dismissed by the High Court on October 8, last year. Mun then filed an appeal to the Federal Court against this dismissal.
Gooi earlier submitted that the offence allegedly committed by Mun for which the request for extradition was made, was a political offence as it was made based on the sanctions against North Korea imposed by the United States.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar countered, saying that Mun was wanted by the United States authorities to face criminal charges of money laundering, adding that a money laundering offence was not an offence of political nature.
Mohd Dusuki and DPP Faizul Aswad Masri appeared for the Home Minister, Sungai Buloh Prison director, Home Ministry and the prosecution who were named as respondents in Mun’s habeas corpus application.
— Bernama
