Court sets dates for govt's bid to call third parties contesting 1MDB forfeiture suits

KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — The High Court has set July 12, 19 and 26 to hear the government’s bid to notify and call vested parties to contest its civil forfeiture action against nine individuals and entities mentioned in court for the first time today.

Deputy public prosecutor Nik Haslinie Hashim said the High Court registrar fixed the dates in relation to the civil forfeiture suits filed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to recover 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) monies on June 19.

According to Nik Haslinie, only six of the nine respondents turned up in court represented by their lawyers earlier today.

Among the six respondents present were Yayasan Rahah, Pekan Umno branch, Johor Baru Barisan Nasional branch, Ibrahim Awang Ismail, and two companies, Naza Quest Auto Sdn Bhd and Habib Jewels Sdn Bhd.

Those absent were the Umno Kedah Liaison Committee, Maran MP Ismail Abd Muttalib and Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP).

High Court deputy registrar Mahyudin Mohmad Som fixed July 12 to hear the publishing of a third-party notice to Ismail, SUPP, and Umno Kedah.

The suit against Johor Bahru BN was fixed on July 19 while the case against Naza Auto will be on July 26.

Lawyer Md Yunos Shariff is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on July 2, 2019. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

Pekan Umno was represented by lawyer Amalin Mohd Zahid, Amin Othman acted for Yayasan Rahah and Ibrahim, lawyer Md Yunos Shariff for Naza Auto, Gooi Yong Shuh for Habib Jewels while BN Johor treasurer Jais Sarday represented Johor Baru BN.

All nine forfeiture suits will be heard before High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

The three dates fixed in July all falls on a Friday as Mohd Nazlan is currently the presiding High Court judge in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd trial and thus only able to hear the cases when trial is not in session.

In the forfeiture action, the federal government is seeking to forfeit properties and monies that were dispersed or misappropriated from 1MDB totalling RM270 million.

These funds were purportedly disbursed via an Ambank account opened under the name of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

On June 25, the High Court ordered Umno and six others to respond to the government’s forfeiture lawsuit against them by filling their respective affidavits.

The other six respondents were former domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek, late Paya Besar MP Datuk Seri Abdul Manan Ismail, Wanita MCA, Umno Sabah Liaison Committee and two companies, Binsara Sdn Bhd and Perano Sdn Bhd.

The lawsuit was filed against 41 recipients including political parties like Umno and MCA under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla).

The entities or individuals named can challenge the forfeiture suit in court by filing in their notice of appearance and respective affidavits to convince the court that the civil forfeiture action should not be allowed.