The Commercial Division of the Kuala Lumpur High Court has granted an ex-parte Mareva injunction to 1MDB and its subsidiaries to freeze former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak or his agents in relation to their claim of US$681 million allegedly going into his personal bank account.
The ex-parte application given by judicial commissioner Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad yesterday only allowed the former prime minister to withdraw up to RM100,000 monthly from his bank accounts to meet his expenditure or living expenses, reported The Edge.
A Mareva injunction is a freezing or asset protection order that prevents a defendant or respondent from transferring assets that may include money held in banks or financial institutions pending the completion of legal action.
The freezing order only applies to Najib, even as other former directors and board of advisers were named in the 1MDB suit.
Najib will have to apply to 1MDB's solicitors if he needs to withdraw more than the RM100,000 a month stipulated by the court.
Najib's conviction in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd graft case was among the reasons that prompted 1MDB and its subsidiaries to apply for the freezing order.
The court has fixed Feb 21 to hear Najib’s arguments should he seek to dismiss the Mareva injunction.
1MDB’s RM23b lawsuit
The injunction application was filed by 1MDB and Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd (previously known as 1MDB Global Investment Ltd or 1MDBGIL) and three of its units via legal firm Messrs Skrine.
1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd filed a RM23 billion suit against Najib and several others who have been accused of defrauding the state-owned firms.
In July 2020, Najib was sentenced to 12 years' jail and fined RM210 million for the graft charges related to RM42 million he received from SRC International, a former subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The Court of Appeals upheld Najib's conviction on Dec 8, 2021. Najib is awaiting his appeal against the decision to be heard in the country’s highest court, the Federal Court. - Mkini
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