Rayhar Travels objects to third-party notice in 1MDB forfeiture suit
Rayhar Travels Sdn Bhd became the first among 41 respondents in the 1MDB forfeiture suits to object to the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowing the gazetting of a notice for interested third parties.
Lawyer Md Yunos Shariff, representing haj and umrah-focused travel agency, told judicial commissioner Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh that allowing the gazetting before hearing out the respondent would amount to an admission of wrongdoing...
Rayhar Travels Sdn Bhd became the first among 41 respondents in the 1MDB forfeiture suits to object to the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowing the gazetting of a notice for interested third parties.
Lawyer Md Yunos Shariff, representing haj and umrah-focused travel agency, told judicial commissioner Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh that allowing the gazetting before hearing out the respondent would amount to an admission of wrongdoing.
“Our main concern is that with the notice of motion (forfeiture suit) supported by the affidavit and the court giving (allowing the application to gazette third party notice) without (allowing) the respondent to respond, amounts to an admission of the exhibit that the respondent purportedly committed wrongdoing,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Nik Haslinie Hashim countered this by saying that the notice is only meant to allow third parties to come forward in relation to the assets involved.
Earlier, Nik Haslinie made an application under Section 61(2) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Unlawful Activities Act 2001 for a date to gazette the notice.
Section 61(2) states that the court making the order of forfeiture under Section 55, or the judge to whom an application is made under Subsection 56(1), shall publish a notice in the Federal Gazette calling upon any third party claiming to have an interest in the property to appear in court.
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“The notice is only to allow third parties to come and record (their) claim and interest in the property," she said.
"Therefore, the court can hear and determine (on any objection by the respondent) after the issuance of the notice. It (third party notice) is only to issue information to third parties."
Yunos then informed the court that he needed more time to seek further instruction from Rayhar Travels, because those who run the agency are currently in Mecca and Medina managing pilgrims.
Shahrir then set Aug 1 to hear the prosecution’s application and determine whether the gazetting of the third-party notice should be allowed.
It was reported that Rayhar Travels has responded to the suit, saying that it had previously been investigated over umrah packages for Pekan residents which were sponsored “by an individual” in 2013.
No objections raised by four respondents
Other 1MDB forfeiture suits which came up for case management before the same court this morning were those against Kelantan Umno, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Yayasan Tun Hussein Onn, IPG Mediabrand Sdn Bhd, Akademi Pemuda, and Sim Sai Hoon (photo).
With regard to Nik Haslinie’s application to gazette a third-party notice, no objections were raised by Kelantan Umno, PBRS, Yayasan Tun Hussein Onn, and IPG Mediabrand through their lawyers.
Nurul Hazreen Ahmad Kamal, Lavinia Kumaraendran, Nurfazreen Hazrina Rahim and G Rajasingam acted for Kelantan Umno, PBRS, Yayasan Tun Hussein Onn, and IPG Mediabrand respectively.
Ahmad Shahrir allowed the prosecution’s application to gazette a third-party notice in the suits against the four respondents. He then set Sept 5 for case management of the aforementioned suits.
The judicial commissioner also fixed July 18 for case management for Sim and Akademi Pemuda to appoint lawyers to represent them in the suits.
Despite Sim being represented by counsel Kenneth Koh earlier today, the lawyer had informed the court that he would not be able to continue to represent her in the matter, hence the need for her to appoint another counsel.
Sim is the director of the research firm Centre for Strategic Engagement Sdn Bhd.
A witness in Najib’s ongoing SRC International trial, she previously testified that she had received RM300,000 from Najib to carry out daily analyses of Chinese vernacular dailies in December 2014 and January 2015.
Akademi Pemuda is a think-tank to support Umno Youth. According to a 2009 post on its website, Akademi Pemuda was led at the time by Khairul Azwan Harun, who is now a senator. Among its committee members were Shahril Hamdan, now Umno Youth deputy chief.
IPG Mediabrand is an international marketing agency with an office in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Established by an act of Parliament in 2017, Yayasan Guru Tun Hussein Onn is a government foundation under the Education Ministry that replaces the Teachers’ Provident Fund, with its main aims being to ensure the welfare and the professional development of teachers.
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