KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday was told that Umno and Selangor Umno are in the midst of negotiating a settlement with SRC International Sdn Bhd and two of its subsidiaries over the allegation of receiving RM19.5 million from the companies in 2015.
Lawyer Mohamed Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman, who acted for Umno, asked for a two-day adjournment as the parties were still negotiating a settlement with the plaintiffs (SRC, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, and Jendela Pinggiran Sdn Bhd).
The request was supported by Selangor Umno's counsel, Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican, and it was not objected to by lawyer Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, who appeared for the plaintiffs.
Judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, who allowed the parties' request to postpone today's proceedings, however, said that the trial will proceed on Wednesday if there is no concrete settlement from the parties.
"We fixed this case more than two years ago, and the last attempt for settlement came quite late in the day. But having understood the position of the parties, I'm okay with allowing this request.
"I need to know the parties' position by Wednesday, and there must be a concrete settlement in place before I can decide, otherwise we have to proceed with the trial on Wednesday," he said.
The plaintiffs filed the two suits in May 2021, where the first is to recover RM16 million that was allegedly transferred to Umno.
The companies claimed that Umno knew, or ought to have known, that the money belonged to SRC and that Umno had no basis to receive the funds.
The second suit is to recover RM3.5 million from Selangor Umno, a sum which they claimed had been wrongfully received by the party. - BERNAMA