Over S$36 million in cash seized by police returned to Najib, UMNO

The police ended up holding the seized money temporarily.

Sulaiman Daud | August 05, 2021, 04:20 PM

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About RM114 million (S$36.4 million) in seized monies has been returned to former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his party, UMNO.

The Vibes reported on Aug. 5 that this was due to the prosecution's decision not to file an appeal in the forfeiture suit, which was dismissed by the High Court on May 20.

The cash was seized during a police raid of a luxury condominium in 2018, and was alleged to have been misappropriated from 1MDB.

In addition to the money, the prosecution filed the forfeiture application to forfeit the items including 11,991 units of jewellery, 401 watches, 16 other accessories, 234 pairs of eyewear, and 306 handbags.

But The Edge Markets reported that the judge ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that the money was obtained from illegal activities.

He added that the prosecution also did not bring forward evidence that the cash originated from IMDB.

Malaysia Now reported the same, but wondered how the money was divided between Najib and UMNO.

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Top image from Najib Razak's Facebook page.