KOTA KINABALU, June 21 — Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin said that it will be seeking legal advice on the civil forfeiture suit filed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The Kinabatangan MP, however, said that the money, believed to be about RM1 million, was given before he took up the party’s top state position, and the account has since been frozen.

"Actually, this thing happened before I took my position,” he said in a WhatsApp message to Malay Mail.

"Anyway, I’ve been informed the amount is around 1M (sic), and the money has been frozen by the government,” he said, adding that he did not know what happened to the money.

Bung said that the party will be consulting with its lawyers before deciding on its next course of action.

Earlier today, MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya said the anti-graft agency was trying to recover some RM270 million belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that was dispersed from Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s AmBank account via 41 civil forfeiture suits.

The lawsuits were filed two days ago against individuals and entities including political parties.

Of the RM270 million, RM212 million (78.5 per cent) was being sought from Umno divisions.

Umno acting president Datuk Mohamad Hasan was reported to have said he will fight the forfeiture in court and has already written a letter to the MACC to explain why the money should be returned to the party instead.