KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8, 2025 — The legal troubles surrounding the unfinished Maju Expressway II (MEX II) project deepened on Monday as Noor Azrina Azmi, wife of prominent businessman and Maju Holdings director Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed, was charged in the Sessions Court with money laundering involving more than RM67 million.
The 48-year-old was accused of receiving RM67.1 million in funds allegedly misappropriated by her husband between March and November 2017. According to prosecutors, the money was transferred from Abu Sahid’s personal bank account into her own at a CIMB branch in Bukit Tunku. Noor Azrina pleaded not guilty when the charge was read before Sessions Court judge Rosli Ahmad.
Her case follows that of her husband, 74-year-old Abu Sahid, who last week was hit with 17 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering over the alleged misappropriation of more than RM450 million tied to the MEX II extension project—a proposed 16.8km stretch connecting Putrajaya to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). He too pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Noor Azrina could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine amounting to at least five times the laundered sum or RM5 million, whichever is higher. The prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib, requested bail of RM500,000 with one surety and the surrender of her passport. The court granted the request, with the case fixed for mention on November 3.
In a separate courtroom, former MEX II Sdn Bhd director Yap Wee Leong was also charged in connection with the scandal. Yap faces allegations of submitting 13 falsified progress claims worth RM314.5 million between June 2017 and April 2018. The claims allegedly covered site clearance, earthworks, drainage, and other works purportedly linked to the MEX II project. He pleaded not guilty before Judge Rosli.
With three key figures—Abu Sahid, Noor Azrina, and Yap—now formally charged, the MEX II highway scandal has escalated into one of Malaysia’s most high-profile infrastructure-linked legal battles. The case raises pressing questions about governance, transparency, and accountability in public-private partnerships on major national projects.
The unfinished MEX II project, originally billed as a critical highway extension to enhance connectivity to KLIA, has instead become synonymous with alleged financial mismanagement. As proceedings move forward, the charges against the trio are expected to draw intense public and investor scrutiny, particularly over the safeguards in place for multi-billion ringgit infrastructure ventures.
