KUALA LUMPUR (June 2): SRC International Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd's civil suit against former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak will now be heard before High Court Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh.
This comes after Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin recused himself from the case on May 13, due to his previous attachment to a local law firm that had rendered its services for SRC related engagements.
Plaintiff's counsel Elani Mazlan from Messrs Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership confirmed this with The Edge when contacted, following case management on Thursday (June 2).
In May, Mohd Arief said although he was never involved with the SRC related work at the law firm, the parties should inform him of any objections.
Najib objected to the judicial commissioner presiding over the matter, preferring a judge with "zero connections" with SRC or its former parent company 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Mohd Arief's recusal, however, does not impact the Mareva injunction granted on March 24. The injunction, among others, prevents Najib or his agent from transferring or dissipating his assets amounting to RM42 million.
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.
The court on Thursday also set Aug 2 to hear Najib's stay application for this suit and extension of time to file his defence.
The Pekan MP is seeking a stay in the proceedings until the disposal of his appeal at the Federal Court against his conviction for seven charges involving RM42 million in the SRC criminal trial.
Among others, he claims that the facts in this civil suit are similar to the SRC matter and there is a "real risk" that the prosecution may amend their prosecution based on evidence given in this suit.
In this civil suit, the companies are suing the former premier for breach of fiduciary duties, knowing receipt of the funds, dishonest assistance, tort of misfeasance and abuse of power.
It is part of a larger 22 civil suits filed in May 2021 to claim billions of ringgit on behalf of 1MDB and SRC against several individuals and entities allegedly involved in the financial scandal.