22 individuals connected to the Islamic company GISB charged with organized crime in Malaysia

News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 23rd October 2024

According to court documents and the company’s attorney, Malaysia charged 22 individuals connected to an Islamic conglomerate, including its CEO, with organized crime on Wednesday. After police rescued hundreds of children from suspected abuse at care facilities owned by Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) Holdings, authorities last month began a comprehensive investigation into the company for a number of crimes, including suspected money laundering, human trafficking, and sexual offenses against children.

Although its CEO, Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, said that “one or two” incidences of sodomy had happened at its shelters, GISB, which authorities claim is associated with a religious cult that is prohibited, has refuted claims of widespread abuse and other wrongdoing.

“There will be a representation, an appeal, and a challenge of the charges,” GISB lawyer Rosli Kamaruddin told reporters after a court hearing where the chargesheets were issued. Those charged on Wednesday included Mohammad Adib At-Tarmimi, the son of late Malaysian preacher Ashaari Mohamed, the founder of the Al-Arqam religious sect that was outlawed by the government in 1994 for allegedly spreading deviant Islamic teachings in the Muslim-majority country.

Although GISB has admitted its ties to Al-Arqam, it currently identifies as an Islamic conglomerate founded on Muslim customs. But according to Malaysia’s home affairs minister, investigations conducted last week revealed that a large number of GISB adherents continued to follow Al-Arqam doctrine, and religious leaders in a number of states have issued fatwas denouncing the group as aberrant.