This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor want further documents from businessman Deepak Jaikishan in relation to his suit against the couple for allegedly exerting pressure on him to settle taxes.

Deepak’s lawyer, Irwan Iswat Mohd Noor, told The Edge Financial Daily that Najib and Rosmah filed a discovery application at the High Court on Dec 31 last year.

He added that Umno politician Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is the third defendant in the suit, filed a similar application on Jan 22.  

The court has fixed April 22 for the hearing of the applications.

Najib and Rosmah, in their application, said they want the filing of their statement of defence to be deferred pending the full disposal of this discovery application.

They said that the documents which they seek from Deepak and two others have been referred to in the suit.

They need to see the documents before they were able to admit or object to the claims in the suit, they said.

 Deepak said that as a result of the transactions, he received a letter from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) in March 2018, asking him to settle the arrears in tax owed by Carpet Raya and his income tax, totalling more than RM6 million, excluding penalty charges and interest.

Deepak claimed that he received the IRB letter after his relations with the couple soured in 2012 following his refusal to follow their instructions in a civil case involving private investigator P Balasubramaniam, and further claimed that Abdul Azeez had knowledge of the matter.