A High Court judicial commissioner today has withdrawn from presiding over SRC International Sdn Bhd's US$1.15 billion lawsuit against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and six former company office bearers.
According to a report by The Edge Markets, judicial commissioner Liza Chan Sow Keng told lawyers of parties involved in the matter that Najib is her friend.
Today was fixed for case management of the suit before the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
This suit is one among 22 launched by SRC and sovereign wealth fund 1MDB against various personalities who purportedly defrauded them.
The two plaintiffs also took legal action against entities that may not have perpetrated the fraud but were involved in the process - knowingly or unknowingly.
Besides Najib, the lawsuits targeted 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low, and his father Larry Low Hock Peng.
The business news portal reported Chan as saying that she should recuse herself from hearing the suit to allay suspicion or allegation of bias or partiality, despite not having any contact with Najib for many years.
Quoting a lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs, The Edge Market reported another case management date has been fixed before another judge or deputy registrar.
The portal reported that prior to Chan's move, another judicial commissioner, Quay Chew Soon, last month had recused himself from 1MDB's suit against Jho Low, Larry and two other defendants.
Malaysiakini is attempting to get confirmation from the legal teams acting for the parties involved in the matter.
It was reported that the 22 suits were filed earlier this month by three law firms, namely Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership (RDS), Skrine & Co, and Lim Chee Wee Partnership.
The suits seek around US$23 billion (RM94.4 billion) from the respondents.
Among those named include Najib, former 1MDB chairperson Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, and former 1MDB chief executive officers Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, and Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
Several family members of Jho Low were also named, including his father and sister May Lin. His associates Eric Tan Kim Loong and Tarek Obaid, who is also the PetroSaudi International Ltd founder, were also named.
Some of the entities named were Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Ltd as well as Swiss-based Coutts & Co Ltd and JP Morgan (Switzerland) Ltd.
The report, quoting a source familiar with the suits, said the criminal cases in the 1MDB scandal were proceeding too slowly and the civil suits will demonstrate Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's seriousness on the issue.
On July 27 last year, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison and an RM210 million fine for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC.
He is appealing the case and the matter is now at the Court of Appeal. His 1MDB-related charges are still at the High Court.
Previously, Bernama reported the Finance Ministry confirmed that 1MDB and SRC filed a total of 22 civil suits to recover assets worth over RM96.6 billion, including about RM300 million against various local parties.
In a statement, the ministry said the writs filed on May 7 comprised six by 1MDB and 16 by SRC.
The writs filed by 1MDB are against nine entities, including two foreign financial institutions, and 25 individuals, while those filed by SRC are against eight entities and 15 individuals for various wrongdoings.
The wrongdoings include breach of contractual, statutory, common law and fiduciary duties; breach of trust; fraud; conspiracy to defraud; fraudulent misrepresentation; fraudulent breach of duties and trust; abuse of power; breach of fiduciary duties in public office; and dishonest assistance in misappropriation of funds.
"1MDB and SRC contend that these entities and/or individuals have been unjustly enriched by wrongfully receiving monies from 1MDB or SRC," the ministry said.
According to Bernama, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the government would not rest until all those involved are made fully accountable for the wrongdoings caused to the country through their involvement in 1MDB and/or SRC.
"Following significant and successful settlements with Goldman Sachs, AmBank Group and Deloitte PLT, the government's recovery efforts are now focused on pursuing other wrongdoers who have caused losses to 1MDB and/or SRC during the execution of their duties, as parties directly or indirectly involved in 1MDB and/or SRC's various operations and transactions," he added.
The government had earlier received RM10.5 billion from Goldman Sachs in August 2020 with a further asset recovery guarantee of RM5.88 billion.
The government will also soon receive RM2.83 billion from the AmBank Group and RM336 million from Deloitte PLT.
The Finance Ministry said all proceeds from the 1MDB asset recovery efforts, including any future settlements, will be deposited into the Asset Recovery Trust Account under the custody of the Accountant-General's Department.
"These settlements will not affect or compromise Malaysia's claims against other wrongdoers for the losses caused to 1MDB and SRC, and they will continue to be pursued through both the criminal and civil justice systems," it added. - Mkini
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