Tan Kim Loong, the alleged right-hand man of 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho, has been ordered by the court to pay RM67.9 million in alleged tax arrears.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday allowed the government’s application for the judgment in default of appearance (JID) against Tan.
Previously, the government filed tax suits against not only Tan, but also two other alleged associates of Low, namely Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and Casey Tang.
On Feb 18, former 1MDB general counsel Loo became the first of the three alleged Low associates to be hit by a JID to pay up RM2.4 million in purported unpaid taxes.
The proceedings against Tang seek RM6.7 million in alleged unpaid taxes.
At present, the police are still trying to locate Low, also known as Jho Low, along with Tan, Tang and Loo to assist an ongoing investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
Tan, Tang and Loo’s names were referred to multiple times in the course of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial.
According to Tan’s statement provided to the MACC on Nov 27, 2015, he was alleged to be the beneficial owner of several companies which allegedly sent billions of ringgit to Najib’s bank accounts between 2011 and 2015.
Tan through the statement had claimed he did not know who he was sending the money to.
Under the law, a plaintiff may seek a JID if the defendant fails to “enter appearance” in legal action, despite the cause papers having been properly served on the defendant per Order 10 Rule 1 of the Rules of Court 2012.
A defendant enters an appearance in legal proceedings, either personally or through a lawyer.
In support of the application for JID, the government has also made a court filing attesting to Tan’s alleged failure to enter an appearance in the legal action.
According to a copy of the JID dated May 3 as sighted by Malaysiakini, Tan was ordered to pay RM67,996,891.87 to the plaintiff, namely the government.
The government is seeking alleged unpaid taxes from Tan for the assessment years from 2010 to 2013.
The total amount sought from him includes penalties imposed for each assessment year for alleged failure to pay.
He was also ordered to pay five percent annual interest on the amount sought calculated from the date of judgment until the date of full payment and costs of RM2,000.
Malaysiakini is awaiting a response from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) over the matter. - Mkini
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