KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has withdrawn its US$248 million civil suit against Riza Aziz — the stepson of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak — and Riza’s Hollywood film company Red Granite Pictures, at the High Court here on Monday.
No reason was given as to why 1MDB has chosen to withdraw the suit.
The case, which started on Oct 16 last year before judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, had already begun with the defendant’s (Riza) case last week.
However, when the case was about to continue on Monday (Feb 24), 1MDB lead counsel Rabindra S Nathan, of Messrs Shearn Delamore, said that he had received instructions from 1MDB to withdraw the case.
“I have received instructions to withdraw the actions against all the defendants,” Rabindra told the court.
The judge then fixed Friday for submissions on the issues of cost for both parties.
The withdrawal came after Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission special operations director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin testified as a witness for the defendants (Riza and Red Granite Pictures) last week, where he said that Riza had received a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for five counts of money laundering for the same US$248 million.
Riza had obtained the DNAA in May 2020. The discharge was given by then-Sessions Court judge Azman Ahmad.
Zamri had testified that in the representations, which were sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers, Riza and his lawyers said that they would work towards a global settlement in recovery of the US$248 million.
The late lead prosecutor and former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram had applied for the DNAA back then.
Sri Ram had said that Riza sent several letters of representations to the authorities to consider his acquittal.
Sri Ram also said that the representations were considered most carefully by those concerned, and the decision to grant the acquittal was made as an agreement was struck between Riza and the government, where the federal government was to receive a substantial sum running into several millions of ringgit.
In proceedings on Monday, Riza’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah did not object to the withdrawal of the suit by 1MDB.
Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin then set Feb 28 to give his decision on costs, after the parties were instructed to send in written submissions to the court.
The trial had featured notable witnesses, such as former 1MDB chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan as plaintiff witnesses.
The next witness that was scheduled to be taking the stand was supposed to be deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, who is part of the 1MDB prosecution’s legal team.
Red Granite Pictures, co-founded by Riza and American film producer Joey McFarland, had produced the Academy Award-winning The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and other movies.
In May 2021, 1MDB and its three subsidiaries — 1MDB Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, and 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd — filed the suit against Riza, Red Granite Pictures, and Red Granite Capital Ltd.
1MDB claimed that Riza had misappropriated their funds from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), or was wilful and reckless in failing to make relevant inquiries as to the sources of the funds.
1MDB said the first tranche of payment of more than US$10.173 million made to Riza was from Good Star Ltd, a company controlled by Jho Low, while that the US$238 million that Red Granite Capital received was actually from bonds raised by 1MDB for the purchase of several power plants.
Riza, in his defence, claimed that the US$10 million was borrowed from the Saudi royal family, while the US$238 million was borrowed from Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC). He also claimed to have paid the US$10 million back to the Saudi royal family.
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