PUTRAJAYA (Oct 15): The US$681 million Mareva injunction imposed on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak by the High Court (Commercial Division) — before the trial for 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and its subsidiaries' US$8 billion suit — continues to stand.

This follows Najib’s counsel, Muhammad Farhan Shafee, on Tuesday informing a three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Datuk Lee Swee Seng that the politician was withdrawing the notice of appeal to set aside the imposition of the injunction since Sept 27 last year, as it had become academic.

Prior to this, the Federal Court had also upheld the High Court’s decision to impose an asset-freezing order of RM42 million granted to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, following a separate suit filed against Najib.

Farhan also informed the bench, which consisted of judges Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing, that the trial for the commercial case had yet to begin, and the parties had agreed that costs of RM30,000 were to be paid by Najib to 1MDB.

Counsel Khoo Guan Huat, who appeared with Siva Kumar Kanagasabai from Messrs Skrine for 1MDB and its subsidiaries, confirmed that they had just been informed on Tuesday morning before the proceedings of the withdrawal, and agreed to costs of RM30,000.

With this, Lee ordered that Najib’s appeal be struck out with costs of RM30,000.

According to Siva Kumar, trial dates for the case have been fixed at the High Court for July 24 and 25, as well as Oct 21, 23 and 24 next year.

A Mareva injunction is a freezing of assets order imposed by the court against a defendant, to prevent the dissipating of funds, pending the disposal of a suit.

On Sept 27 last year, High Court judge Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad granted the inter-partes Mareva injunction against Najib as 1MDB and its subsidiaries’ application was substantiated by evidence.

“Furthermore, it is clarified that the ‘good arguable case’ standard for a Mareva injunction is not as onerous as contended by Najib,” Atan Mustaffa had said in his decision.

“The plaintiffs (1MDB and its subsidiary companies) have unquestionably met this standard, considering the evidence and legal arguments presented before the court.”

Atan Mustaffa said the SRC criminal trial findings were relevant to the Mareva injunction application, casting doubt on Najib’s explanation of the funds as Arab donations.

In granting the Mareva injunction, the High Court judge in his written grounds, which were released early this month, said that while contesting 1MDB’s application, the former prime minister had given conflicting evidence (via his affidavit) over the RM114 million seized from a raid on a condominium at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in May 2018, as Najib claimed that the money belonged to Umno.

“However, Najib also contended that part of the RM114 million comprised not only Umno’s funds, but his own personal foreign currency. Such inconsistency in Najib’s narrative fatally undermines his credibility and leads this court to question the veracity of his claims.

“The evidence demonstrates that the RM114 million or a substantial portion thereof are held in foreign currency. This discredits Najib’s entire claim that he held the funds for the benefit of Umno. Notably, the Umno treasurer has gone on record to say that they had no knowledge of the funds being held for Umno’s benefit, and further emphasised that Umno did not receive funds in foreign currency,” the judge said.

Atan Mustaffa said that in Najib’s asset disclosure in March 2022, the former PM did not include overseas assets, bank accounts, and the significant sums of the RM114 million and RM31 million from the earlier failed forfeiture applications by the prosecution, and the disclosure was made for possessions only up until 2020.

The judge said that despite a letter from 1MDB’s lawyers dated March 31, 2023 for further disclosure, Najib in his reply in June last year still provided an incomplete and inadequate disclosure.

“A critical analysis of Najib’s conduct, particularly his failure to make a complete asset disclosure in violation of the ex-partes Mareva injunction order and ad interim injunction Mareva order, demonstrates blatant disregard for the procedural obligations of these proceedings.

“Furthermore, the inconsistencies in Najib’s narrative, particularly with regard to the RM114 million, severely undermine his credibility and invoke suspicion,” Atan Mustaffa said in his written grounds.

1MDB, along with its subsidiaries 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd, and Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd (previously known as 1MDB Global Investment Ltd), had filed a US$8 billion suit against Najib and seven other former senior 1MDB staff, several of whom are still missing.

Those named include former 1MDB deputy chief financial officer and executive finance director Terence Geh Choh Heng, former general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, former executive director of business development Casey Tang Keng Chee, former director of investments and chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat Koh, former chief financial officer and subsequently chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad, former director of investments Kelvin Tan Kay Jim, and former chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.

In the statement of claim, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants, including Najib as the then chairman of the board of advisers, had facilitated the companies to enter into sham agreements to create a circuitous trail of money, to ease or conceal the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.

Najib has presently served over two years of his reduced six-year jail sentence at the Kajang Prison following a royal pardon, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and sentence on all seven charges in the first SRC criminal case on Aug 23, 2022.

Read also:
COA fixes Oct 15 to hear Najib’s appeal over the imposition of US$681m asset-freezing order
1MDB's US$681m asset-freezing order on Najib upheld
Apex court upholds RM42m asset freeze order against Najib
1MDB, subsidiaries obtain Mareva injunction to freeze Najib's assets, allows ex-PM to withdraw maximum RM100,000/month from bank accounts