1MDB, Najib agree to temporary hold on US$8b lawsuit

 

Sovereign wealth fund 1MDB's US$8 billion (RM33.5 billion) civil action hearing against Najib Abdul Razak and several others will not proceed until the disposal of the former prime minister's related criminal case.

This was the mutual agreement reached between 1MDB and Najib, who was the former chairperson of the fund's board of advisors, during case management before the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning.

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who acted for Najib, confirmed that both sides agreed for the civil action not to go for its full hearing until the completion of the former finance minister's ongoing corruption trial involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB's funds.

"We do not want the (1MDB civil action) trial to go on until the criminal trial is over. They (1MDB) agreed," the lawyer said when met by the media outside the High Court this morning.

1MDB's counsel DP Naban confirmed that both sides consented to hold off on the full hearing of the civil action for the time being until the disposal of Najib's separate criminal court case.

"Enclosure 36 (Najib's application for a court order to stay 1MDB's civil action against him) was withdrawn. This trial is not to proceed until the criminal trial is finished at the High Court. This is a consent agreement," Naban said.

The separate 1MDB criminal trial against Najib is set to proceed for continuing hearing on March 14.

Incidentally, in relation to the same civil action, the High Court three days ago issued a Mareva injunction order against Najib over US$681 million in assets.

It is understood that the hearing of the former prime minister's application to set aside the interlocutory court order is still to proceed before the High Court on Feb 21.

Among the effects of the Mareva injunction is that the former finance minister is only allowed to withdraw up to RM100,000 monthly from his bank accounts to meet his living expenses.

The present suit is one among 22 civil actions launched by 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International last year, targeting those who purportedly defrauded the two government-owned entities, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

In the current civil action, the plaintiffs are 1MDB and its four subsidiaries - 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited, and British Virgin Islands-based Global Diversified Investment Company Limited (previously known as 1MDB Global Investments Limited).

Najib is listed as the first defendant among eight defendants in the present civil suit.

The other defendants are Terrence Geh Choh Heng (former 1MDB deputy chief financial officer), Jasmine Loo Ai Swan (former 1MDB general counsel), Casey Tang Keng Chee (1MDB's former executive director) and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (former CEO of SRC International Sdn Bhd).

SRC used to be a subsidiary of 1MDB before it became fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc). Najib also used to be SRC's advisor emeritus. - Mkini