Kuala Lumpur: The High Court has set July 24 to hear applications by ex-Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy to strike out a US$6.59 billion (RM30 billion) lawsuit filed by the company against them.
Lawyer Brendan Siva, who appeared for 1MDB, said judicial commissioner Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, set the date during a case management held online today.
“The court also ordered both defendants (Irwan and Arul Kanda) to file additional affidavits for their application to amend their statement of defence, before or on May 31, as well as additional submissions for the applications to strike out the suit, if any,” he said.
The proceedings were also attended by lawyer Lavinia Kumaraendran, representing Irwan, while lawyer Gobinath Karuppan acted on behalf of Arul Kanda.
Irwan filed an application to strike out the suit on Feb 18, 2022, on the grounds that the suit against him was premature.
He claimed allegations regarding the investment into Brazen Sky Limited and the payment to Aabar Investments PJS Limited were clearly unsustainable as the court had yet to determine that 1MDB suffered losses of US$1.83 billion (RM8 billion) and US$3.5 billion (RM15.4 billion), respectively, as claimed.
Arul Kanda filed a similar application on June 2, 2022, saying he could not be held responsible for losses incurred by 1MDB arising from irregularities committed by others.
In May 2021, 1MDB filed a suit against Irwan and Arul Kanda over alleged breaches of trust and conspiracy, which it said had caused the company to suffer losses amounting to US$1.83 billion, in relation to its investment in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd, which was allegedly converted into an investment into Brazen Sky Limited, and later into the Bridge Global Fund.
1MDB also claimed that the two defendants committed a breach of trust and conspiracy by misappropriating 1MDB money, amounting to US$3.5 billion paid to Aabar Investments and US$1.265 billion (RM5.57 billion) paid to International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), on May 9, 2017.
1MDB alleged that Irwan also conspired with Arul Kanda to cause the company to enter an employment extension agreement, and made a substantial payment of RM2,905,200 to Arul Kanda in accordance with the agreement, without regard to 1MDB’s interests, which caused the company to suffer losses and damage.
In this regard, 1MDB, among others, demanded that the two defendants compensate the company in the sum of US$6.59 billion, and that Irwan pay an additional RM2.9 million (RM12.76 billion) in relation to the employment extension agreement.
