Court to hear Oct 19 Arul Kanda, Irwan Serigar's bid to strike out 1MDB's US$6.59b claim

The applications of former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy to strike out a US$6.59 billion suit filed by the sovereign fund against them will be heard on Oct 19.

Representing Irwan Serigar, lawyer Lavinia Kumaraendran said the defendants and plaintiff agreed for the two applications to be heard simultaneously on Oct 19 before judicial commissioner Amarjeet Singh.

When contacted today, she said case management has been fixed for Oct 16.

The application to strike out the suit was filed by Arul Kanda (above) last month while Irwan Serigar filed his on Feb 18.

In his application, Irwan Serigar, among others, alleged the suit against him was premature as the investment of Brazen Sky Limited and the payment of Aabar Investments PJS Limited were not clearly unsustainable as the court has yet to determine 1MDB suffered losses of US$1.83 billion and US$3.5 billion.

1MDB filed the suit against Arul Kanda and Irwan Serigar in May last year alleging that the two defendants had committed breach of trust and conspiracy, causing 1MDB to suffer losses amounting to US$1.83 billion in relation to its investment in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd, which was converted into the alleged Brazen Sky Limited investment said to be found in the Bridge Global Fund.

Irwan Serigar Abdullah

1MDB also alleged that the two defendants committed breach of trust and conspiracy by misappropriating 1MDB money amounting to US$3.5 billion paid to Aabar Investments and US$1.265 billion paid to IPIC on May 9, 2017.

1MDB claims that Irwan Serigar also conspired with Arul Kanda to cause the company to implement an employment extension agreement and paid RM2,905,200 to Arul Kanda in accordance with the agreement, regardless of 1MDB’s interests, causing the company to suffer losses and damage.

In this regard, 1MDB among others demanded that the two defendants pay US$6.59 billion for the breach and an additional RM2.9 million from Irwan Serigar in relation to the employment extension agreement.

- Bernama