High Court Rejects Bersatu’s Judicial Review, Party’s Two Frozen Bank Accounts Remain Under Seizure
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review filed by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), ruling that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) acted lawfully in freezing and seizing two bank accounts belonging to the political party.
The decision means the two accounts, which have been frozen since early 2023 as part of a money laundering investigation, will remain inaccessible after the court found no evidence of abuse of power or unlawful conduct by the anti-graft agency.
High Court judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman, who is now serving as a Court of Appeal judge, held that the applicants failed to establish that the MACC’s actions were tainted by bad faith or exceeded its legal authority.
According to the judge, the court was satisfied that the respondents had acted within the framework of the law and that none of the allegations raised by the applicants had been sufficiently proven.
“Overall, the court is satisfied that the applicants failed to prove that the respondents’ decisions were tainted by ultra vires actions, bad faith or a breach of legitimate expectation amounting to an abuse of power.
“I do not find that any of these elements have been established and therefore the application is dismissed,” she said in delivering her ruling.
The court made no order as to costs.
The proceedings were conducted via Zoom, with Senior Federal Counsel Nurhafizza Azizan representing the MACC, while Bersatu was represented by lawyer Rosli Dahlan.
The judicial review application was filed in March 2023 by Bersatu public officer Datuk Muhammad Suhaimi Yahya together with party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The two sought to challenge the MACC’s decision to freeze the party’s bank accounts held with CIMB and AmBank.
In the suit, they named former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki and 19 others as respondents.
The accounts were frozen on January 12 and 13, 2023 as part of investigations into funds suspected to have originated from unlawful activities.
The MACC carried out the action under laws related to anti-money laundering and the handling of proceeds derived from illegal activities.
Bersatu argued that the seizure and freezing of the accounts were carried out without a proper seizure order as required under Section 50(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA).
The party also claimed that the freeze had affected its operations and financial management as funds in the accounts could no longer be utilised.
However, the court found that the grounds advanced by the applicants were insufficient to establish any abuse of power or legal impropriety on the part of the MACC.
The ruling is seen as reinforcing the anti-graft agency’s authority in conducting investigations involving financial transactions and funds suspected of having links to criminal activities.
The high-profile case has attracted significant public attention as it involves the finances of one of Malaysia’s major political parties and forms part of wider investigations involving several key figures linked to the party.
With the latest ruling, the two disputed bank accounts will remain frozen unless a subsequent legal process or court decision determines otherwise.
