Sulu claim ‘stay’ valid only in France, say heirs’ lawyers

 

Petronas has said it will fight an order to seize its subsidiaries in Luxembourg. The order was obtained by heirs of the Sulu sultanate. (Reuters pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers for the heirs of the Sulu sultanate claim that Malaysian assets in 169 countries are still at risk of being seized despite a stay ordered by a French court.

Paul Cohen, the heirs’ lead co-counsel, told Reuters that the stay applied only to France and not the other countries who are signatories to a New York convention on arbitration.

The lawyers claimed that an arbitration award handed down in February in France was valid in all signatory countries.

However, Malaysian authorities said the arbitration award had been held to be invalid and could not be enforced as it infringes on the country’s sovereignty.

The Sulu heirs are seeking to enforce an award of US$14.9 billion as compensation for ceding Sabah, now part of Malaysia.

Last week, writs of seizure were issued against two Luxembourg-based units of Petronas, which described the seizure as “baseless” and that the companies had divested their assets.

The Sulu heir’s lawyers said the companies were now under the control of bailiffs in Luxembourg, pending any appeal by Petronas, Reuters reported. - FMT