His lawyer, Hamidi Mohd Noh, said Ahmad was challenging the charges under Sections 4(1)(a) and 32(8)(c) of the Anti Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act, or Amla, on grounds that they were “baseless”.

He said the application was made under Section 173(g) of the Criminal Procedure Code on Feb 11.

Sessions Court judge Azman Ahmad fixed March 23 to hear Ahmad’s application after deputy public prosecutor Siti Noor Hafizan Zakaria told the court the prosecution needed time to file its response.

“The defence only served us their application last week,” she told the court.

Ahmad, the former international trade and industry deputy minister, claimed trial last month to failing to declare in his 2013 tax returns RM2 million he allegedly received from Najib, as well as providing false information to a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer.

He faces a maximum five years’ jail and a fine of between RM3 million and RM5 million if found guilty.

Previously, MACC had issued compound notices to Ahmad and 79 other individuals, demanding them to return money, allegedly from 1MDB, that they received.