Umno to cite CIMB for contempt over release of RM192mil

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has filed an application to initiate contempt proceedings against CIMB Bank as the bank has yet to release the sum of RM192mil.

This is despite an order from the High Court last month for the immediate release of the monies.

Its lawyer Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh said the bank had not complied with the court’s ruling, which dismissed the prosecution’s attempt to stay the decision on a forfeiture application.

The prosecution had sought to recover RM192,965,413.61 allegedly received from former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, believed to be linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which was seized by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission from Umno.

On June 19, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove on the balance of probability that the money came from 1MDB.

“The court has not heard our leave application to initiate contempt proceedings today pending the prosecution’s new attempt to stay the June 19 decision at the Court of Appeal tomorrow,” Hariharan told reporters.

CIMB’s lawyer, Rabindra Nathan, said his client was awaiting an order from the MACC to release the funds. “We were actually ready to release the money but MACC took the position that they had filed an appeal. So we are caught between a rock and a hard place.”

MACC’s legal and prosecution division director Roslan Mat Nor gave his assurance that the bank should be able to release Umno’s funds without fearing any legal repercussions from the commission. — Bernama