Part of the RM116.7 million UMNO is seeking was given by a state ruler

A “top ranking official subordinate to (Dato’ Seri) Amar (Singh)” became very abrasive the minute he discovered that UMNO made an application for information relating to the RM116.7 million confiscated by the police from a condo unit in Bukit Bintang.

According to a well-placed source, the official became so incensed upon reading Azalina’s recent statement in media that he accused her team of using “very harsh words” in the party’s application.

The application stirred a hornet’s nest in Bukit Aman and has become a serious cause for concern to the police.

The last thing Amar and his men need right now is for people to think that the freezing of UMNO accounts was done only to create the perception that Najib channeled money from 1MDB into the party.

THE THIRD FORCE

The Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 is a law that provides for, among others, the offence of money laundering and the forfeitures of properties involved. Known previously as the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) 2001, the law became the provision by which the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of Bukit Aman seized cash and luxury goods from several high-end residences in Kuala Lumpur. The media had a gala time linking these residences to former Malaysian premier Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The cash was reportedly contained in 35 bags found during a search conducted at a luxury condo unit in Bukit Bintang. The search was more an act of breaking and entering than it was a legitimate discovery exercise. CCID Director Dato’ Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh failed to provide a tenable explanation as to why he raided the Pavillion Residences unit at a time its owner was not in. Given the high-profile nature of the case, the least Amar could have done was to indicate whether or not the police attempted to communicate with the owner before they decided to barge in.

The announcement has since led to some action being considered and deliberated by a legal unit in UMNO. Last Wednesday, the unit head, Dato’ Azalina Othman Said, was quoted by Malaysiakini (Kini) as saying that the party tasked Messrs Scivetti & Associates with claiming the cash. The law firm is said to have been appointed along with a group of lawyers led by a Hariharan Tara Singh. According to Kini, Azalina’s team would make applications to relevant enforcement agencies in its bid to obtain information required to retrieve the funds.

And neither does the remaining RM96.7 million, all of which constitute donations that were set aside for Barisan Nasional’s election campaign by friends of Najib. When the former premier undertook to lodge a police report over the seizure of that cash, the onus immediately fell on Amar to record statements from him and others in UMNO who may have been involved in handling the money. But the CCID chief did no such thing and preferred to magnify the value of items seized instead.

That immediately tells you that the police paid no attention to Najib’s report and are extremely prejudiced against him. By including the cash, Amar automatically sealed his contempt against the former premier and his determination to link the money to 1MDB. If that isn’t enough to convince you that a conspiracy exists, a well-placed source revealed to The Third Force yesterday that a “top ranking official subordinate to Amar” became very abrasive the minute he discovered that UMNO made an application for information relating to the money.

According to the source, the official became so incensed upon reading Azalina’s recent statement in media that he accused her team of using “very harsh words” in its application. He then challenged the party’s legal unit to seek recourse to the courts instead of providing it with information requested. The application stirred a hornet’s nest in Bukit Aman and has become a serious cause for concern to the police. The last thing Amar and his men need right now is for people to think that the freezing of UMNO accounts was done only to create the perception that Najib channeled money from 1MDB into the party.

Perhaps that explains the latest piece of intel The Third Force received earlier today. According to the intel, the police are about to ‘orchestrate’ another raid just to ‘prove’ that the investigation into 1MDB is far from over. The whole purpose of this exercise may be to impress upon people that the freezing of UMNO accounts gave police access to vital information related to 1MDB. Perhaps that is Amar’s way of raising the ‘value’ of items confiscated thus far should there be a need to return the RM116.7 million to the party.

And all along, we thought Malaysia Baru was all about upholding the rule of law…