Court allows Najib to obtain documents ahead of 1MDB's US$8 billion suit hearing

THE High Court allowed Datuk Seri Najib Razak's application to obtain some documents related to the suit filed by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) against him and seven others to claim US$8 billion in damages.

Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus made the decision after finding that the documents requested by the former prime minister were clearly relevant and necessary for the fair disposal of the suit.

Of the 20 documents requested by Najib, Mohamad Redzuan allowed only five documents to be handed over to him, which were named as the first defendant.

Mohamad Redzuan allowed Najib to obtain a complete list of all money, assets or property recovered, returned, repatriated or realised and all documents that prove or record any recovery, repatriation, restitution or return of the money or assets.

The suit is one of 22 civil suits filed by 1MDB to claim more than US$23 billion against several individuals allegedly involved in the high-profile financial scandal.

In his judgment, Mohamad Redzuan said that since Najib is a party to the suit, he has the right to know, in particular, the documents and details of the amount that has been recovered and the circumstances under which the amount was obtained.

"More importantly, the plaintiffs' blanket denial of possession of the documents contradicts their own admissions in their affidavits.

"They clearly admitted that they had some of the documents in question," he said.

Mohamad Redzuan, however, did not allow Najib to obtain the entire document on the grounds that it would intrude on the scope of sensitive national negotiations and matters relating to mutual legal assistance.

He said the court agreed with the plaintiffs that the request for all documents, all internal correspondence and all documents identifying the factual or legal basis for the recovery was overly broad and an impermissible search for information.

Meanwhile, the court also granted the plaintiffs' application to impose a protective order on all documents provided to the former Pekan MP.

This made all the documents indiscernible to anyone except the Judge or Judicial Commissioner, court staff, the parties to the suit and their respective lawyers.

They were to be kept confidential and used solely for the purpose of the suit proceedings.

The documents were also not accessible for public inspection, and only the redacted version of the documents certified by the plaintiff can be filed electronically.

On May 7, 2021, the writ of summons was originally filed by 1MDB and four subsidiaries against 15 defendants, including Najib.

The four subsidiaries are 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited and Global Diversified Investment Company Limited, or better known as 1MDB Global Investments Limited.

Also named as defendants are former 1MDB Directors, Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, Tan Sri Ong Gim Huat and Ashvin Jethanand Valiram.

Other defendants, former 1MDB Chief Executive Officers, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, former Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) Azmi Tahir and Radhi Mohamad and former 1MDB officers, Terence Geh Choh Heng, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, Casey Tang Keng Chee, Vincent Beng Huat Koh, Kelvin Tan Kay Jin and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.

However, on August 16 2021, 1MDB and its four subsidiaries dropped seven of the 15 defendants. They are Che Lodin, Ismee, Gim Huat, Ashvin Jethanand, Shahrol Azral, Mohd Hazem and Azmi. – June 5, 2026