KUALA LUMPUR: Umno wants police to return money that was seized as it is party funds.
Umno’s Strategic Communications Unit said that the party badly needs the funds to rebuild itself after the 14th General Election (GE14).
“Umno is seeking to recover these funds and we request police to release and return them to the party after investigations are completed.
“Umno is in the process of rebuilding and the return of our party funds will help in this process,” it said in a statement.
It said it was unfortunate that the funds were seized by police while being transferred to Umno's acting leadership after Datuk Seri Najib Razak had resigned.
It added that the party constitution allowed for Umno presidents to source and manage funds, including those to be used for a general election.
“Our former president had sourced the funds prior to GE14 and was managing it.
“However, the remainder of these funds were seized by police after Najib stepped down as Umno and Barisan Nasional president, before it could be transferred to the current acting leadership,” it added.
It said when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had stepped down as Umno president, the latter had also handed back RM1.2 billion to the party and its three million members.
It was reported that police had seized RM130 million in cash and about RM200 million in gems from premises linked to Najib.
The cash and jewellery were recovered following raids that were part of police investigation into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.