1MDB obtains court order freezing Najib’s assets in Malaysia

1MDB and one of its subsidiaries have obtained an injunction from the Kuala Lumpur High Court to stop former prime minister Najib Razak from disposing of or reducing the value of any of his assets in Malaysia up to US$681 million.

Based on documents obtained by the media, the injunction also restricts Najib to making withdrawals of up to only RM100,000 a month for living and legal expenses.

Should he require more than the amount allowed, he will have to get written permission from 1MDB and Global Diversified Investment Company Limited, formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Limited.

The decision was made by judicial commissioner Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad during online proceedings yesterday after he allowed an ex-parte application for a mareva injunction by 1MDB and Global Diversified, which are the first and fifth plaintiff in the 1MDB suit against Najib and several others.

A mareva injunction is a court order which effectively freezes the assets of a defendant from being dissipated pending the outcome or completion of a legal action.

The order also states that Najib must make written disclosures to 1MDB and Global Diversified in relation to his assets up to the value of US$681 million, whether locally or abroad, whether under his own name or not, and whether on sole proprietorship or ownership with other defendants.

He is required to provide the value, location and all information concerning the assets, to be verified by an affidavit and served to the counsel of the first and fifth plaintiff.

If the total value free from mortgage or securities in assets in the country exceeds US$681 million, Najib can remove or dispose of the assets as long as the total unencumbered value remains not less than US$681 million.

The order also states that any individual in this proceedings or otherwise who is informed of the order in question should not aid or permit a breach of the order where they may be subject to contempt of court action if they do.

The order will remain effect until the court hears the inter-parte application for the injunction on Feb 21.

When contacted, a lawyer from the legal firm of Messrs Skrine, representing 1MDB, confirmed the court’s decision.

In the suit, 1MDB, 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited and Global Diversified Investment Company Limited are the plaintiffs, while Najib, former 1MDB financial director Terrence Geh Choh Heng, former 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, former 1MDB executive director Casey Tang Keng Chee, Vincent Beng and 1MDB chief operations officer Radhi Mohamad are named as defendants.

Also named as defendants are former investment director Kelvin Tan Kay Jim and former SRC International Sdn Bhd CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.

The US$8 billion suit is one of 22 civil suits filed to claim over US$23 billion on behalf of 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International against several individuals allegedly involved in the financial scandal.