KUALA LUMPUR – Umno has dropped its appeal a day before the Court of Appeal hearing on the recovery of RM116.7 million seized during the investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal.
The party’s lawyer Tania Scivetti told Malaysiakini today that the notice was filed on Monday “on the basis that the appeal would be deemed to be academic”.
Previously, Umno succeeded in recovering the sum in a proceeding at the high court here.
On March 21, 2019, the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck out Umno’s suit requesting for the return of RM116.7 million forfeited in a 2018 raid at Pavilion Residences.
Umno then filed the suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on September 21, 2018, seeking for the funds to be returned as they were seized wrongfully.
On August 5, assets totalling RM114 million had been returned to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno.
This came after the prosecution decided to not file for an appeal in the forfeiture suit after it was dismissed by high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin.
Jamil on March 11 allowed the application by Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, and Umno’s counsel, Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh, to strike out the affidavit.
Jamil, in his brief decision, said the affidavit was filed during the submission stage and would cause prejudice to the third-party claimants, namely Najib and Umno.
“It was filed after all of the other affidavits were filed and without leave of the court.
“Accordingly, I rule that the affidavit cannot be used and I will not consider the affidavit in support. Shafee may continue with the submission,” said the judge at the hearing of the government’s application to forfeit RM114,164,393.44 and jewellery seized from premises owned by Obyu Holdings Sdn Bhd.
The affidavit in question is crucial to the prosecution’s 1MDB-linked forfeiture suit against Obyu Holdings.
On February 10, the prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi, contended that Umno has a secret unaudited account to receive political donations, which they argued is an offence under the Societies Act 1966.
In the suit’s written submission, the prosecution claimed that this is because some of Umno’s leaders denied having knowledge about the funds.
Obyu Holdings is owned by Tan Sri Bustari Yusof, the younger brother of former works minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and a close associate of Najib.
The prosecution filed the forfeiture application against Obyu Holdings to forfeit the items including 11,991 units of jewellery, 401 watches, 16 other accessories, 234 pairs of eyewear, and 306 handbags, as well as cash in various denominations amounting to RM114,164,393.44.
The money and jewellery were seized by the authorities for allegedly being linked to the 1MDB fund scandal.
On September 3, 2019, it was reported that Najib was among several third parties seeking to stake a claim in the forfeiture suit involving cash and jewellery, among others, seized by the authorities from Pavilion Residences in Kuala Lumpur in 2018.
The other third-party claimants in the forfeiture suit are Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Umno, and a Lebanese jeweller, Global Royalty Trading SAL. – The Vibes, September 1, 2021
