NAJIB TO BE STOPPED FROM PAYING IPIC RM1.2BIL? MALAYSIAN YOUTHS FILE LAWSUIT TO BLOCK LONDON ARBITRATION DEAL DEEMED AS ‘DISADVANTAGEOUS’ TO THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE

A COALITION of opposition youth members today filed a class action suit to prevent Putrajaya and 1MDB from paying International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) the RM1.2 billion awarded in a settlement at the London Court of International Arbitration in April.

Gerakan Anakmuda Tolak Najib (Ganti), represented by Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, seeks a court declaration that the London settlement in London is null and void.

“We want a declaration that the settlement between 1MDB and IPIC be cancelled; the funds paid to be returned; and no further payment made until the disposal of this suit,” Faiz Fadzil, representing the group said at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today.

Faiz said that when IPIC sued Malaysia the payments of more than RM3.5 billion made between 2012 and 2014 to Abbar BVI were fraudulent.

“To date, no action has been taken by the government against those involved in the fraud. Unfortunately the government has already agreed to pay the settlement reached in London,” he said.

Faiz, who is also the Amanah deputy youth chief, said the group lodged reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission but no action was taken, so “we are filing the suit”.

Ganti comprises youth members from DAP, PKR, Amanah and Bersatu who are also the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Haniff said that the respondents Prime Minister Najib Razak and the government would be represented by the Attorney-General chambers, while 1MDB would retain its own legal counsel.

“This is writ of summons and civil action suit seeking a declaration of accounts with the payments have been made.

“We are saying that the settlement agreement and the consent award signed in London are null and void. We need the Malaysian courts to declare that so it will not be binding to 1MDB or the government,” he said.

It was reported in April, that debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had settled its arbitration with Abu Dhabi fund International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), in a deal welcomed by Putrajaya.

Both companies had issued separate statements on the settlement of the arbitration proceedings at the London Court of International Arbitration.

The deal between IPIC and 1MDB began in 2012 when the former guaranteed two bonds worth US$1.75 billion (RM7.52 billion) each for 1MDB to raise funds for the purchase of power-generation assets. In return, 1MDB was to make collateral payments to IPIC.

However, by the end of 2015, problems arose when IPIC/Aabar and 1MDB could not agree over a sum of missing funds due to IPIC and the Malaysian state investor failed to settle a US$1.2 billion loan from Abu Dhabi.

Both sides were unable to reconcile the missing monies with Malaysia insisting that it had repaid US$3.5 billion to IPIC subsidiaries, while the later maintained that it did not receive most of the funds.

In May 2016, government of Abu Dhabi and Malaysia agree to take dispute for private arbitration in London.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT