Stay bid on dismissal of forfeiture application against Pekan Umno postponed

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has postponed to next month the case management of the prosecution’s application for stay of the court’s decision in dismissing the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s application to forfeit RM700,000 allegedly linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, that was seized from Pekan Umno.

Deputy public prosecutor from the MACC Abdul Rashid Sulaiman told Bernama that the prosecution had received an email from the High Court Registrar yesterday which informed them that the case management has been set on November 20 before senior assistant registrar Maryam Jamielah Ab Manaff.

“The case management is for the application for stay of the court’s earlier decision in dismissing the application to forfeit the money seized from Pekan Umno,” he said via WhatsApp.

The case management was initially scheduled for yesterday but was vacated following the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order in Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur from October 14 to 27.

On September 17, Judicial Commissioner Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh dismissed the prosecution’s application after finding that on the balance of probabilities, the applicant (MACC) has not succeeded in proving that the seized sum of RM700,000 is the proceeds of unlawful activity.

In his judgment, Ahmad Shahrir said all respondents contended that the sum of RM700,000 was fully utilised to defray expenses for utilities, purchase of equipment and other payments for the first respondent and that the account balance appearing in the account of the first respondent on the date the freezing order was served did not originate from the impugned accounts of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The forfeiture application was made under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001.