‘Umno’ sues Najib to retrieve chunk of RM2.6b
Najib had acted in breach of trust and confidence reposed in him as an Umno trustee.
(Malaysiakini) – Things are heating up in Umno, as the ruling party files a suit against its president Najib Abdul Razak to reclaim a portion of the RM2.6 billion alleged party donations said to have left the country.
A large portion of the funds, which The Wall Street Journal had exposed was deposited into Najib’s personal accounts, were allegedly transferred to Singapore two years ago.
Umno, through one of its grassroots leaders, named Najib and Umno executive secretary Abdul Rauf Yusof as defendants in the suit filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court registry this morning.
The vocal member claimed that the legal action is for the benefit of and on behalf of the party and its members.
The US$650 million is said to be the balance from the original US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) the prime minister had received in his personal accounts.
The transfer happened sometime on Aug 30, 2013, the same day Najib closed the account, as alleged by whistleblower website Sarawak Report.
It is understood that the suit was filed today after no action had allegedly been taken on complaints made against Najib to the party’s disciplinary board.
The Umno member is seeking an injunction against Najib and Abdul Rauf or their agents in the disciplinary board, state liaison body, divisions, and branches to be restrained from removing, suspending, and taking disciplinary action on her, pending the disposal of this action.
The complainant is also seeking a repayment amounting to US$650 million – the amount reportedly deposited by Najib to a Singapore bank – and an account of all monies that he had received in the form of donations.
Also sought are details of all monies in the AmPrivate Banking Account No 2112022009694 allegedly belonging to Najib, along with damages, costs, and other reliefs.
Unaccounted for in Umno’s books
The complainant further argued in the claim that the monies said to have been donations from wealthy Arabs for the party’s benefit allegedly did not appear in the party’s audited accounts.
The sum of RM2.6 billion allegedly did not appear in Umno’s audited accounts for the financial years 2013 and 2014, according to the statement of claim sighted by Malaysiakini.
The document said that between Mar 21 and Mar 25, 2013, US$680,999,976.00 (RM2.6 billion) made its way into Najib’s two private accounts in AmBank, through Falcon Private Bank in Singapore.
The claim argued that since Najib has admitted receiving the amount, which he said he was not the personal beneficiary to the funds but Umno, he is only acting as a trustee of the funds.
It was reminded that Umno, and hence Najib, is governed by the Societies Act 1966 and party constitution over matters related to financial matters and accounting.
Under Section 14(d) of the Act, Umno is required to provide the audited accounts every financial year to the Registrar of Societies.
Umno’s financial year is from Jan 1 to Dec 31 every year, and monies belonging to Umno are to be deposited in a commercial or savings bank.
The complaint stated Najib as a trustee has breached the Umno constitution, the provisions of the Societies Act, and common law as a trustee of the donations.
