Party member sues Malaysian premier over cash hoard
Play
Kuala Lumpur (dpa) - The Malaysian prime minister was sued Friday by a member of his own party, demanding that he move at least some of the millions found in his bank account into the party's coffers.
Najib Razak has faced accusations over 2.9 billion ringgit (673million dollars) found in his bank account in July, which he says were donations for a 2013 parliamentary election.
The latest case aims to call Najib to account over the money, and to transfer any relevant monies to the official account of the UMNO, said the lawyer for plaintiff Anina Saauddin.
Saauddin is a fellow member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and member of parliament for a constituency in the northern island of Langkawi.
She also asked the Kuala Lumpur High Court to shield her from any disciplinary action by the party, pending the resolution of the case, her lawyer Hanif Khatri said.
Earlier a group of opposition leaders brought a civil case against Najib for breaking election funding rules over the money.
The Wall Street journal, which broke the story last month, reported that the money came from the beleaguered state fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission found the money came from political donations from the Middle East and not from 1MDB.
