Faiz Fadzil, in a statement today, claimed that many had confused civil action with criminal action in the matter of the DoJ lawsuit.
“Ministers and Umno leaders, including Information Chief Annuar Musa and Law Minister Azalina Othman Said, used the word ‘civil’ in wanting to imply that the DoJ’s action is not serious as it is not a criminal case,” Faiz said.
Faiz however said the DoJ’s action comes under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative programme, which aims to recover all foreign national assets stolen through criminal activities.
“Even though the sections mentioned are under civil forfeiture, the actions taken by the DoJ come under the American criminal law,” Faiz said.
The lawyer explained that civil forfeiture actions were generally taken preceding actions under criminal law provisions.
Azalina yesterday said the Opposition did not understand the nature of the actions taken by the DoJ.
Annuar Musa also chimed in, saying the DoJ lawsuits were civil suits that needed to go through certain processes.
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali meanwhile noted his discomfort at the allegations against the prime minister following the lawsuits filed by the DoJ.
However, lawyer Syahredzan Johan alleged that while it was true the move taken by the DoJ was not a criminal proceeding, the civil action indicated that US authorities believed there was a concerted effort to siphon money from the state investment arm to purchase private jets, yachts and paintings by renowned artists like Van Gogh and Monet.
“Those being taken action against are those holding the properties in the US.
“That is why, action is not being taken (for now) against ‘Malaysian Official 1′, among others,” Syahredzan said, referring to the phrase used in the DoJ report to describe a “high-ranking official in the Malaysian Government.”