KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 1): Except for its former chief executive officer, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who is not in Malaysia, SRC International Sdn Bhd has served copies of the writ of summons on all six defendants. SRC International, under its new management, filed a complaint on May 7 against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the former Prime Minister, and six others for claimed breach of trust and statutory duty in respect to the RM4 billion Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan (KWAP) loan to SRC.
The writ of summons had been served on Najib and five former SRC directors, namely Datuk Suboh Md Yassin, Datuk Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, and Datuk Che [email protected] Che Omar, according to a lawyer from the Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership, who is representing SRC.
“The writs were served on all defendants except the third defendant (Nik Faisal) because he is no longer in Malaysia,” the lawyer said following a case management today before High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, which was conducted online.
The writ of summons will be served on Nik Faisal by substituted service, according to the lawyer, and the court has set August 3 as the next case management for the plaintiff (SRC) to update the court on the substituted service.
Substituted service, as defined by Order 62, Rule 5 of the Rules of Court 2012, is an indirect means of serving cause papers on an individual who is purportedly evading service or if serving the documents on the person is problematic.
In the writ of summons, SRC, which is a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), claimed that all of the defendants conspired and committed a breach of trust, as well as that the former prime minister had abused his power and obtained personal benefits from SRC funds, as well as misappropriated the funds.
From May 1, 2012, to March 4, 2019, Najib served as SRC’s Advisor Emeritus.
SRC, which is now wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc), is seeking a declaration that all defendants are liable for the loss of investment funds as a result of the loan amount’s use, as well as general damages, exemplary, additional and interest damages, costs, and other appropriate relief from the court.
According to SRC’s writ of summons, the company was placed under the care of officials from the Ministry of Finance (new management) in January 2019 and, after scrutinizing and reviewing SRC records, it was discovered that SRC’s previous directors had not taken any reasonable steps to ensure KWAP’s loans totaling RM4 billion to SRC in 2011 and 2012 were used properly to finance the company’s general i.
The previous directors, according to the company, failed to monitor the disposal of RM3.6 billion to SRC BVI (proposed investment fund) allegedly for SRC to undertake investment activities in the energy resource sector overseas, failed to monitor the Malaysian government’s exposure to guarantees given to SRC, and failed to inquire about SRC funds misappropriation.
According to the company’s writ of summons, “the new management also discovered that a high number of withdrawals, transfers, and use of KWAP loans were fraudulent or incorrect.”/n
