KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has withdrawn its US$248 million civil suit against Riza Aziz — stepson of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak — and his Hollywood production company, Red Granite Pictures.
The withdrawal was made at the High Court here on Monday, though no reason was provided, according to a report published in The Edge today.
The case, which began on October 16 last year before judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, had already entered the defendant’s (Riza’s) stage last week.
However, when proceedings were set to continue on Monday, 1MDB’s lead counsel, Rabindra S Nathan of Messrs Shearn Delamore, informed the court that he had received instructions to drop the lawsuit.
“I have received instructions to withdraw the actions against all the defendants,” Rabindra told the court.
Following this, the judge scheduled submissions on cost-related matters for both parties on Friday.
The withdrawal comes after Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) special operations director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin testified last week as a defence witness.
He stated that Riza had previously received a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in May 2020 for five counts of money laundering involving the same US$248 million.
The discharge had been granted by then-Sessions Court judge Azman Ahmad.
Zamri revealed that in representations sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers, Riza and his lawyers had proposed a global settlement to recover the funds.
The late lead prosecutor and former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram had applied for the DNAA at the time, stating that Riza had submitted multiple letters seeking acquittal.
These representations were carefully reviewed, and the decision to grant the discharge was reached following an agreement in which the federal government was to receive a substantial sum running into millions of ringgit.
