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KUALA LUMPUR: A hearing on Putrajaya’s decision to freeze over US $ 340 million (RM1.4 billion) of alleged 1MDB funds held at a UK law firm was again postponed due to the imposition of the order of conditional motion control and because the parties are still negotiating an agreement.
Deputy High Court Registrar Mahyuddin Md Som said a defendant’s attorney had written earlier to postpone today’s hearing.
“It is due to the current Covid-19 situation and the parties are still in talks to resolve the matter,” he said in a text message.
He said the prosecution had no objection to the case being postponed while a provisional freezing order was still in effect.
Mahyuddin said case management had been set for December 14.
On October 1, attorney Alex Tan, representing Petro Saudi International’s South American subsidiary PetroSaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) Ltd, asking for more time, told the court that “there is some progress” in the case.
“On behalf of the company, it is necessary to review our position and seek further instructions,” he said.
Lawyer Yusof Zainal Abiden, who appears on behalf of Petro Saudi director Tarek Obaid, said he was also assuming the same position.
Trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali set the hearing for today.
The prosecution contends that the US $ 340,258,246.87 in Clyde & Co LLP belonging to PetroSaudi and its affiliate was obtained through illegal activities.
The Malaysian government is also attempting to prohibit the use of an undisclosed sum held in a bank account under the name Temple Fiduciary Services Ltd.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Investigative Officer Mohd Afiq Abdul Aziz, in his affidavit to support the request, claimed that the money was related to a conspiracy to defraud 1MDB, involving Tarek, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho and former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
In July, the court granted a temporary order preventing PetroSaudi International and Tarek from using such 1MDB funds, pending the liquidation of the government’s bid to obtain the freeze order.
