KUALA LUMPUR (March 15): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has asked the High Court (commercial division) here for more time to file his defence in the US$8 billion suit that 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and its four subsidiaries have filed against him and several others on the grounds of financial loss due to abuse of power and breach of fiduciary duties.

Najib's lawyer Nur Syahirah Hanapiah informed the court that more time is needed to file Najib's defence, which was supposed to be due this week after a stay of proceedings on the suit was granted last month that required him to file his defence within 30 days.

The defence made the request when the case was called up for case management on Tuesday (March 15) before Judicial Commissioner Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad. Allowing the extension, Atan Mustaffa directed Najib's solicitors to file his defence by March 28.

The court also gave directions on the filing of affidavits in relation to the Mareva injunction and the setting aside application sought by Najib.

Atan Mustaffa had already fixed May 6 to hear the inter-parte Mareva injunction application; he will also on the same day hear the Pekan MP's application to set aside the ex-parte Mareva injunction which he had granted on Feb 8.

The ex-parte (one party) Mareva injunction granted to 1MDB and its subsidiary Global Diversified Investment Co Ltd against Najib effectively freezes his assets although the court had allowed him to withdraw up to RM100,000 a month for expenses.

A Mareva injunction is a court order which essentially freezes the defendant's assets to prevent any transfer of said assets that a plaintiff is seeking to recover.

In the abuse of power and breach of fiduciary suit by 1MDB and Global Diversified Investment plus three other 1MDB subsidiaries, apart from Najib, the plaintiffs had also named former 1MDB executives Terence Geh, Casey Tang, Jasmine Loo and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as defendants.

The US$8 billion suit is one of 22 civil suits filed in May last year to claim billions of ringgit on behalf of 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd against several individuals allegedly involved in the financial scandal

Geh was 1MDB deputy chief financial officer and Loo is its former general counsel, while Tang was its executive director of business development and former chief investment officer. Nik Faisal was its chief executive officer. All four individuals have left the country and are still at large.

The others who were named are 1MDB's former director of investments and chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat Koh, former chief financial officer Radhi Mohamad, and former director of investments Kelvin Tan Kay Jim.

1MDB and its subsidiaries contended that Najib disregarded his obligations under Article 117 of SRC's memorandum and articles of association, and abused his powers in exercising his public functions to maliciously commit fraud and misappropriation, which resulted in the fraudulent transfer of funds and losses to the company and its subsidiaries.

They contended that Najib should have foreseen the losses incurred due to such acts of misappropriation during each of the phases, losses which they said every Malaysian now has to bear.

They also claimed that Najib abused his position in causing further losses, and hence they are entitled to aggravated and exemplary damages because of his actions in obstructing and hindering investigations into the wrongdoings, whereby he obtained secret profits for himself or his agents.