Najib declares assets amounting to RM4.49mil to High Court

(The Star) – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has declared his assets to the High Court and it amounts to RM4.49mil.

The disclosure was made in an additional affidavit filed at the court as part of a Mareva injunction against him in a lawsuit filed by SRC International Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd.

On March 24, SRC and Gandingan Mentari obtained the Mareva injunction to prevent the former prime minister from transferring or dissipating any of his assets amounting to RM42mil.

A Mareva injunction is a temporary order which restrains the defendant from disposing of assets until the determination of the case between the plaintiff and the defendant.

The court directed that Najib, 69, must not remove, dispose of, deal with or diminish the value of any of their assets in and outside of Malaysia up to the value of RM42mil, pending the final determination of the suit.

“I affirm this affidavit to adhere to the court order dated March 24, where I am ordered to disclose to the court and the plaintiffs of my asset details.

“On my instruction, my accountant has prepared the additional asset list which I confirm to be true and accurate based on the details already available to me,” Najib said in the affidavit filed on July 20.

Based on the affidavit, which was sighted by The Star, Najib’s assets stand at RM4,490,774 as of June 30.

His largest asset was a RM2,528,849 deposit with Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASB), as of June 13.

His second largest asset stands at RM1,248,938 at a current account in Affin Bank, as of June 30.

Najib also owns seven properties including lands in Pekan, Bentong and Kuantan, Pahang, as well as in Semenyih and a condominium unit at Awana Condominium in Genting Highlands.

Three out of the seven properties (lands in Kuantan, Pekan and Bentong) were inherited while the rest were acquired.

These properties amounted to RM460,987.

Also listed are eight motor vehicles ranging from Mercedes Benz, Bentley, Honda EX 5 and a Kawasaki ZG, amounting to RM252,000.

In a previous affidavit, Najib said four Mercedes Benz and the Bentley were gifts received from his in-laws from Kazakhstan.

According to the court order on the Mareva injunction, Najib, who was SRC’s advisor emeritus, shall be entitled to draw and expend from a bank account or other sources, a sum not exceeding RM100,000 per month, for ordinary living and legal expenses in which the court highlighted that this amount is inclusive of the ad interim Mareva injunction order obtained.

SRC and Gandingan Mentari sued Najib on May 7 for alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and misappropriation of SRC’s funds.

The present suit is among the 22 civil actions launched by 1MDB and SRC last year which targeted those who allegedly defrauded the companies and breached fiduciary duties.

Meanwhile, Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee told the press that they had withdrawn an application to postpone the proceedings in the SRC and Gandingan Mentari civil suit in a case management before Justice Amarjeet Singh.

“The SRC criminal appeal has been fixed for hearing on Aug 15, so there is no issue about the civil case proceeding before the disposal of the criminal case.

“We will be filing our defence (in the civil suit) in two months,” he said when contacted.

On July 28, 2020, the High Court sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210mil after finding him guilty of misappropriating RM42mil in SRC funds.

The case will be heard at the appeal stage in the Federal Court on Aug 15.