Contempt proceedings will be initiated against the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) faction headed by Muhammad Fauzi Shamsuddin for not returning the remaining union funds.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court will hear the application for leave to proceed with the contempt proceedings o­n Monday.

In a press statement today, union general secretary J Solomon said up till 4.30pm this evening o­nly RM602, 056.25 out of RM614, 088.40 was returned to the NUBE account in the Bumiputera Commerce Bank.

He added that another RM654, 060 withdrawn from the Ambank Bhd has yet to be returned.

"The president Abdul Jalil Abdul Hamid and exco of NUBE assure members that the individuals responsible for this fraudulent activity will be brought to justice," he said.

Last week, 15 NUBE members and ex-officials from Muhammad Fauzi's faction walked away with RM1.2 million from two banks within 24 hours following an interim order against named individuals, who are elected officials, preventing them from handling the union's main accounts.

Two days after the withdrawals, the High Court ordered the monies returned to the respective accounts, failing which, contempt proceedings would follow. o­n Feb 28 the day the court order was obtained - more than RM600, 000 was returned.

Muhammad Fauzi was the president of 28,000-strong union before a leadership crisis erupted in October 2001, following the ouster of Solomon as general secretary.

Safe-keeping

On Thursday, Muhammad Fauzi told malaysiakini that the remaining money has been "placed somewhere for safe-keeping".

"We returned half to ensure that the funds are in a proper place and not in some illegal account managed by certain individuals posing as NUBE office-bearers," he added

He also accused his rivals headed by Abdul Jalil of operating an illegal account in AmBank Berhad.

He claimed the union's main accounts were in three banks Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd, Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Bhd and HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd all of which have been frozen pending the final outcome of the internal dispute.

However, Solomon dismissed the claim, saying that this was a diversion tactic employed by the rival faction.

Yesterday, Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan o­nn said a chartered auditor to audit the union's accounts in order to avoid its funds from being misappropriated.