PUTRAJAYA: 1MDB and four of its subsidiaries have won an appeal to revive their bid to set aside a High Court judgment ordering fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, and his father to pay more than US$3.7 billion.
A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Justice Azhahari Kamal Ramli allowed the appeal today and ordered the application to be heard by a different High Court judge.
A case management has been fixed for Oct 26.
The bench, which also comprised Justices Ahmad Kamal Shahid and Alice Loke, made no order as to costs.
The appeal followed the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s refusal to set aside the judgment in default obtained by the five companies in 2022.
The judgment in default was entered after the defences of Low and his father, Larry Low Hock Peng, were struck out for violating a Mareva injunction, which prevents defendants from dissipating their assets.
The five companies subsequently applied to set aside the judgment to allow the dispute to proceed to a full trial and seek broader relief against the father and son.
However, the High Court dismissed their application last year on the ground that it had been filed too late.
Lawyer Lee Shih, assisted by Priyadana Annadurai, represented 1MDB and its subsidiaries. Low and his father were neither present nor represented in court.
Under the 2022 judgment, Low and his father were ordered to pay a total of US$3,782,637,525, together with annual interest of 5% on the respective sums, calculated from dates between 2010 and 2014 until full settlement.