KUALA LUMPUR – 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has failed in its attempt to consolidate two separate civil suits into a single trial.
In 2022, the company filed a US$6.59-billion (RM31.59-billion) suit against its former director Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and ex-chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy separately.
Last year, 1MDB filed an application for the two suits to be heard before one judge, arguing that the merits and facts of both cases were similar.
However, today, high court judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, presiding over the suits against Irwan and Arul Kanda, dismissed 1MDB’s application.
He also ordered 1MDB to pay RM4,000 in costs to both Irwan and Arul Kanda.
Therefore, the trial dates set for the suit on September 2, 6, 9, 13, 16 and 17 will proceed as scheduled.
In 2022, 1MDB filed a total of 22 civil suits against various parties, including three individuals, seeking to recover RM96.6 billion in assets.
Additionally, the company filed suits to reclaim approximately RM300 million from various local parties.
These parties were sued for various alleged wrongdoings, including breach of trust, contractual obligations, statutory and common law duties, and fiduciary duties, as well as conspiracy to defraud the company.
In September last year, the high court affirmed 1MDB’s Mareva injunction application against Najib, which froze the latter’s assets and limited his withdrawals to a maximum of RM100,000 monthly. – April 16, 2024