KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has failed in its bid for Kedah Umno and Habib Jewels Sdn Bhd to forfeit RM1.15 million allegedly originating from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The High Court dismissed the MACC’s application after ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove its civil forfeiture cases against the two entities.
Kedah Umno and Habib Jewels were accused of receiving the monies via cheques issued by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak amounting to RM1.05 million and RM100,000 respectively.
In his judgement in the Kedah Umno case, judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said that the RM1.05 million cannot be part of the RM15 million given by Najib to the party between 2012 and 2013.
“The entity (Kedah Umno) received RM15 million in six cheque transactions issued by Najib between 2012 and 2013.
“The forfeiture application now relates to the balance standing to the credit of the current account of the respondent which was frozen and later seized on June 25, 2018 which is the said amount of RM1,054,019.22.
“However, the end balance as of June 30, 2013 was only about RM1.4 million, which indicates that the bulk of the RM15 million had actually left the account.
“The balance had over time declined even to a low of RM58,000 as at the opening balance on Jan 1, 2017,” he said.
Mohd Nazlan said Kedah Umno had also received more than RM27 million in early 2018 just before the last general election.
“RM26 million was paid out in 203 transactions… thus, it cannot be said that the sum of slightly more than RM1 million now remaining in the account is part of the RM15 million paid by Najib a few years ago,” he said.
Meanwhile, as for the case involving Habib Jewels, Nazlan said the monies received by the entity for the purchase of jewellery was done in good faith in the ordinary course of business of the respondent.
“The public prosecutor did not dispute this sale after the respondent produced contemporaneous documentary evidence such as receipts for the sale of jewellery.
“There is also no allegation of collusion or any form of wrongdoing made by the public prosecutor against the respondent.
“I am also satisfied that there was no reason for the respondent to believe that the payment they received from Najib were proceeds of an unlawful activity,” he said.
On June 21, the MACC filed civil forfeiture applications against 41 people and entities, including Umno, to recover RM270 million allegedly taken from 1MDB.
Its chief commissioner, Latheefa Koya, said the funds were allegedly transferred from Najib’s personal Ambank account.
She said the commission had moved to file civil forfeitures because there were provisions under AMLA to recover the money without prosecuting.
Latheefa also said that some RM919 million from the 1MDB scandal have been recovered so far, including from Hollywood film production company Red Granite, Park Lane Hotel in New York and several others through the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).