PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today ordered the High Court to rehear an application by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and four of its subsidiaries to set aside a judgment in default (JID) entered against fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho and his father, Tan Sri Larry Low Hock Peng.
A three-judge panel comprising Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Alice Loke Yee Ching allowed 1MDB and its subsidiaries' appeal against a High Court decision that dismissed their application.
Azhahari ordered the case to be remitted to the High Court for a full hearing before a different judge and fixed Oct 26 for case management at the High Court.
Last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the companies' application to set aside the JID on the grounds that they had delayed filing it by nearly three years.
In 2022, 1MDB obtained a JID against Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and Hock Peng, ordering them to pay US$3,782,637,525, together with annual interest of five per cent on the respective sums from dates between 2010 and 2014 until full settlement.
The judgment was entered against them after the High Court rejected their defence for failing to comply with a Mareva injunction.
Last year, 1MDB applied to set aside the JID against the two men, seeking to have the dispute proceed to a full trial and to pursue additional relief against them.
The companies claimed that, when the JID was entered, they were unaware of evidence that later emerged in foreign proceedings.
They also said the alleged fraud perpetrated by the defendants was sophisticated and involved multiple entities across various jurisdictions.
A judgment in default is given to a plaintiff when the defendant fails to respond to a summons or appear in court.
1MDB and its four subsidiaries — 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd, Global Diversified Investment Co Ltd (formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Ltd) and 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd — filed the US$3.78 billion suit in May 2021 against Jho Low, his father, his mother, Puan Sri Goh Gaik Ewe, his siblings Taek Szen and May Lin, and his associate Tan Kim Loong.
The suit involved allegations of fraudulent concealment, fraudulent misappropriation of funds and unjust enrichment, among other claims.
At today's proceedings, lawyer Lee Shih, assisted by Priyadiana Annadurai, submitted that the companies had been denied a fair hearing because they had not been able to present arguments on the merits of their application to set aside the JID.
Low and his father were neither present nor represented by lawyers in court today.
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