JOHOR BARU, June 21 — Johor Umno will seek legal representation and challenge the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in court to recover funds related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), said its state chief Datuk Hasni Mohammad.
He said Johor Umno will be appointing a lawyer to act on its behalf following the civil forfeiture suit filed by MACC.
“At the same time, the state party will also legally fight to regain custody of the 27 ‘Skuad Sayang’ vans that were confiscated by police last August under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLA) 2001, as the hearing will start soon,” said Hasni today.
Hasni, who is the state Opposition chief and also the Benut assemblyman, said Johor Umno aims to be transparent and has nothing to hide from the MACC.
The former senior state exco said Umno Johor’s account has been frozen by the anti-graft commission since investigations were initiated in July last year.
“They (MACC) have yet to find any evidence (of wrongdoing) and the court has yet to make a decision on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s innocence or guilt over the charges against him, but the MACC still went ahead with the civil forfeiture suit,” said Hasni.
Earlier, his deputy Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed criticised the civil forfeiture suit filed by the MACC, describing it as a politically-motivated move to bring Umno down.
Earlier today, MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya said the anti-graft agency is trying to recover some RM270 million belonging to 1MDB that was dispersed from Najib’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. Johor Umno has been named as among the party’s state recipients.
