KUALA LUMPUR: The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has filed a US$1.83 billion (RM8.71 billion) suit against PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) chief investment officer Patrick Andrew Marc Mahony and a United Kingdom-based legal firm.
The sovereign wealth fund filed the suit via Messrs Lim Chee Wee Partnership on May 7 at the High Court here by naming Mahony and White & Case LLP as the first and second defendants, respectively.
According to their statement of claim, 1MDB alleged that it was misled about the multi-billion joint venture agreement JVA between the company and PSI.
The company claimed that they were deceived by Mahony to believe that PSI was owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud.
"1MDB's eventual joint venture partner was not PSI but PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd.
"The assets that were injected by PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd into the Joint-venture company were worth substantially less than US$1.5 million at the material time.
"The joint venture with PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd was a sham, which resulted in 1MDB suffering a complete loss of its investment.
"By reason of the conspiracy, 1MDB has suffered loss and damage of US$1.83 billion," said the statement.
The plaintiff (1MDB) asserted that it could not have uncovered the fraud any sooner because of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's efforts to cover it up.
"Najib abused his power and position to protect himself and his associates to cover up the fraud by obstructing and hindering efforts to properly investigate evidence related to the scheme.
"He (Najib) used his power to dismiss senior public officers who questioned his conduct or proceeded with or encouraged investigations into the fraud on 1MDB.
"This includes the then attorney-general (Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail) and the then deputy prime minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) as well as sought to suppress local media which sought to expose the truth," the statement claimed.
The plaintiff is seeking a court order to compel both defendants to repay US$1.83 billion to the company.
On April 1, former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, when testifying in Najib's criminal trial for misappropriating the company funds, revealed that the said JVA was purely a scam.
Under the JVA, which was signed on Sept 28, 2009, 1MDB ended up pumping in US$1 billion for a 40 per cent stake in the company while PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) injected its so-called assets worth US$2.7 billion for a 60 per cent stake.
On May 10, 2021, 1MDB filed a total of 22 civil suits against various parties, including Najib, to recover RM96.6 billion in assets.
The Finance Ministry, in a statement, said six of the 22 writs were filed by 1MDB, while the remaining 16 were by its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The civil suits were filed as an effort by both entities to recover their assets with a combined total in excess of RM96.6 billion, including approximately RM300 million against various local parties.
The writs filed by 1MDB are against nine entities, including two foreign financial institutions and 25 individuals.
ENDS