[UPDATED] Sulu case: Spanish arbitrator to face criminal charges at Madrid court in Dec

KUALA LUMPUR – Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa will be tried at the Madrid Court on December 11 for two criminal cases related to the final award to the defunct Sulu sultanate, said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The law minister said that the Madrid Court itself has investigated and issued charges on the offences allegedly committed by Stampa, and if he is found guilty of the charge, he faces a prison sentence and fine by the court concerned.

Bernama reported her as saying that the hearing date was set following an aggressive and persistent request by the Malaysian government. 

She stressed that this is not a civil claim, and that Stampa is dealing with criminal charges.

She added that the government has consistently concluded that the award given by Stampa as an international arbitrator can be seen as invalid and unfounded, she was reported as saying during an online interview from London.

Azalina is presently in the British capital to meet with lawyers appointed by the Malaysian government to deal with the demands of eight individuals who claim to be heirs to the sultanate.

According to Azalina, the award announced by Stampa against the Malaysian government of US$14 billion (RM65.6 billion) was seen as a “fraud award” because the court that appointed him as arbitrator was the same court that had annulled his appointment.

“…but despite the decision, Stampa continued to hear the arbitration case, although he lacked the authority to act as an arbitrator and should have immediately put an end to the purported arbitration proceedings.”

Stampa then moved his seat of arbitration to Paris in February 2022, where he made the award against Malaysia.

“That is the reason why for the Malaysian government, the criminal case against Stampa on December 11 is very important, because it can annul all the awards by Stampa,” she said.

Azalina added that the Malaysian government will be represented during the proceeding, because Malaysia is the complainant.

French court ends claims over diplomatic assets

Azalina also said that the French court had on November 6 annulled the order of registering of a statutory mortgage against Malaysian diplomatic buildings in Paris by a self-claimed Sulu group from the Philippines.

She said that the French court recorded the withdrawal of claims to seize assets (Malaysia’s diplomatic buildings) by the Sulu group.

“The outcome of the decisions on November 6 and November 9 ends the Sulu claimants’ efforts to seize Malaysia-linked assets throughout the world. 

“They failed (in the) attempts to touch on assets that belong to Malaysia and we will not compromise illegal and baseless claims,” she was quoted as saying by Bernama.

“The government of Malaysia will continue to take all necessary actions to ensure that Malaysia’s interests, sovereign immunity and sovereignty are protected at all times by the Madani government,” she said.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Azalina said that Malaysia’s June 6 victory in the appeal against the exequatur of the so-called partial award on jurisdiction leads to the withdrawal of the measures registered by the long-defunct sultanate on diplomatic buildings owned by Malaysia in Paris, France.

She said Malaysia had notably challenged these measures on the grounds of its immunity, in particular the immunity of its diplomatic premises as recognised under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

“On November 6, the Paris enforcement judge quashed its prior ex-parte order authorising that a statutory mortgage be registered on three diplomatic buildings owned by Malaysia in Paris.

“The judge considered that it did not have the power to authorise such a measure and ordered the claimants to pay €15,000 (RM75,400) to Malaysia as cost,” she said. – The Vibes, November 9, 2023