KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB), which is seeking RM1.69 billion from Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has told him to pay now and talk later.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee said IRB’s action would “effectively bankrupt” Najib and disqualify him as a member of parliament (MP).
He said the latest development concerning the case happened when the defence was filing for a stay of proceedings pending appeal on the assessment.
However, he said IRB’s lawyers indicated that they were planning to file an application for a summary judgment even though Najib was contesting the matter in court.
“They are doing this even though there is an appeal on the tax assessment.
“This is an unfortunate case of pay now, talk later... except pay now is to the tune of RM1.69 billion, which will effectively bankrupt my client and disqualify him as an MP,” he said.
Farhan said he would be filing for a stay of proceedings pending resolution of the assessment.
The next case management has been fixed for Aug 30.
Najib, who is Pekan MP, has been slapped with the RM1.69 billion demand for taxes between 2011 and 2017.