KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — The High Court here has granted the government’s application to restrain two individuals linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from accessing overseas bank accounts and shares allegedly tied to 1MDB and other mega projects, Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported.
The court, presided by Justice K Muniandy, issued the orders during case management today, following applications filed by the government yesterday.
According to the online news portal, in one application, the government claimed that a sum of US$4.5 million held by an individual identified as “Prince Faisal Turki Al Saud” at Riyad Bank in Saudi Arabia was related to 1MDB.
According to the report, the court was told that “Prince Faisal” had transferred RM60 million to Najib in 2011.
In a separate case, the government sought to restrain Paul Stadlen, Najib’s former media adviser, from accessing 12 million shares held with an asset management firm in the United Kingdom.
According to the government, Stadlen acquired the shares — valued at approximately US$100 million — using funds misappropriated from large-scale projects such as the East Coast Rail Link, the Multi-Product Pipeline, and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline.
Deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat, representing the government, confirmed that the attorney-general will invoke the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2002 to facilitate the serving of court orders to the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UK, FMT reported.
This development marks another step in ongoing efforts to recover funds allegedly misused in connection with the 1MDB scandal and other related projects.
