KUALA LUMPUR — The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Wednesday (Sept 27) upheld an order to freeze US$681 million (S$934 million) in assets connected to former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Judge Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad dismissed Najib’s application to set aside the Mareva injunction obtained by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which is suing him for US$8 billion.

A Mareva injunction is a court order which freezes the assets of a defendant so that it is not dissipated while pending the outcome of a legal action.

Judge Atan ruled that the injunction be upheld until the resolution of the case.

However, he allowed Najib to withdraw RM100,000 (S$29,126) a month for expenses and legal fees.

Najib is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence after being found guilty of embezzling and laundering the funds of SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

In May last year, 1MDB filed 22 civil suits against various parties, including Najib, to recover RM96.6 billion in assets.

The Finance Ministry said six of the 22 writs were filed by 1MDB and 16 by SRC International Sdn Bhd.

1MDB filed the writs against two foreign financial institutions and 25 individuals. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT