THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today set July 24 to decide on the prosecution’s application to forfeit RM100,000 seized from former land and cooperative development minister Kasitah Gaddam, allegedly linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

Judicial Commissioner Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh set the date after hearing submissions from both parties.

Earlier, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Nik Haslinie Hashim said although the money had been spent by the respondent, the court still has the power to issue an order under Section 59 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 for him to repay the amount.

“Even though the respondent said that the money was spent for the purpose of the 2013 general election (GE13), the fact remains the money was received from former prime minister Najib Razak and that the respondent had admitted it himself,” she said.

Lawyer Sasila Basri, representing Kasitah, however, said that although his client had admitted receiving the money from Najib in 2012, it was meant for GE13, which was held on May 5, 2013.

“My client is a government retiree and former minister in the federal cabinet. The account in question was created to facilitate deposits of his pension money, long before he retired in 2004. It was not created for unlawful activities… allegation of such activities must be proved first.

“The RM100,000 was received in 2012 and seized by the MACC in 2018, but my client also received pension of more than RM100,000 a year. The seized money was actually his money,” he said.

The lawyer added that the proof of deposits of the pension money had also been submitted as exhibits to the court.

In June last year, former MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya had said that the MACC had filed civil forfeiture suit against 41 respondents to forfeit about RM270 million allegedly linked to the 1MDB scandal and received by the respondents from Najib. – Bernama, June 25, 2020.