PETALING JAYA: The Barisan Nas­ional parties named in a civil forfeiture suit by the Malaysian Anti-Corrup­tion Commission (MACC) are prepared to prove their innocence.

Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the bank account of the national-level Umno that the MACC had frozen actually contained party funds collected during the last general election and was not money from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

“Yes, Umno did receive 1MDB funds at one point in time, but that money has all been used up.

“The funds currently frozen by the MACC should be returned as these are clean party funds,” claimed Mohamad, better known as Tok Mat.

The Rantau assemblyman, however, stressed that he was not speaking on behalf of other state liaison committees or Umno divisions.

MACC chief commissioner Lath­eefa Koya yesterday said a civil forfeiture suit had been filed against 41 individuals and entities to recover RM270mil related to 1MDB.

The MACC said the national-level Umno was the biggest beneficiary of this RM270mil worth of funds disbursed from the personal bank account of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the former Barisan chairman and Umno president.

The MACC also listed the state Umno liaisons of Kelantan, Sela­ngor, Pahang, Kedah, Johor and Sabah, as well as Pekan Umno division, as recipients of monies allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.

Mohamad said the party had written to the MACC stating why the money frozen in its bank account should be returned.

He said this was the second stage in the procedure and “the case will go to court before the court decides whether the money should be seized. We will make our arguments”.Mohamad is heading Umno while party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is on garden leave as he faces corruption charges.Meanwhile, MCA denied know­ledge of the source of the funding it received from the former premier.

In a joint statement, Wanita MCA and the Pahang MCA state liaison committee said they would cooperate and were determined to prove their innocence in court.

“We hereby assert that Wanita MCA and Pahang MCA had no knowledge, nor were we informed as to the source of the funding received from the Prime Minister before the 13th General Election in 2013,” it said in a statement yesterday.Wanita MCA and Pahang MCA said they had extended their full cooperation throughout investigations conducted by the MACC and police, and had furnished an activities report to show that the funds were utilised as intended.

“We are seeking legal advice from our lawyers handling the matter to prove our innocence in the courts,” they added.

Johor Umno chief Datuk Hasni Mohammad said they would fight the matter in court.

“The MACC has yet to find any evidence and the court has yet to decide whether Najib is innocent or guilty of the charges against him. But the MACC still went ahead with the suit,” said Hasni, who is also Benut assemblyman.

His deputy, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, alleged that the suit was politically motivated.

“(The Pakatan Harapan government) wanted to shore up some support as it has been getting pressure from the public over its 1MDB investigations,” Nur Jazlan claimed.

Kedah Umno information chief Datuk Suraya Yaacob said they were not aware of any investigation prior to the MACC civil forfeiture announcement.

“We will focus on clearing the party’s name through the legal process,” she said.

-The STAR-