1MDB suit: Riza, Red Granite Pictures, two others yet to appoint lawyers in US$250m legal action against them

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Ex-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's stepson Riza Aziz Abdul Aziz, Red Granite Pictures Inc, Red Granite Capital Ltd, and law firm Shearman & Sterling have yet to appoint lawyers to represent them in a lawsuit filed in May 2021 by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and its three subsidiaries under a legal action involving the alleged misappropriation of about US$250 million (about RM1.06 billion) from 1MDB.

1MDB and its three subsidiaries — 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd and 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd — had via law firm Shearn Delamore & Co filed the suit at the High Court against the four defendants.

A file search by theedgemarkets.com indicated that there were memoranda of appearance filed on behalf of Riza, Red Granite Pictures, Red Granite Capital and Shearman & Sterling for case management today before High Court senior assistant registrar Noordura Mohamed Din.

Noordura today fixed Sept 22, 2021 for another case management for the 1MDB lawsuit.

When contacted by theedgemarkets.com, Riza's former lawyers who represented him in his money laundering case confirmed they are not representing Riza in the 1MDB lawsuit.

On the 1MDB lawsuit, news reports, quoting court documents, reported that Riza and Red Granite Pictures were named as the first and second defendants respectively in the legal action.

It was reported that Red Granite Capital and Shearman & Sterling were indicated as the third and fourth defendants respectively.

According to Red Granite Pictures' website, the company is an American film finance, development, production and distribution company founded in 2010 by Riza who is also chairman of the company.

Riza is Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's son from her previous marriage.

News reports, quoting court documents, indicated that 1MDB alleged that Riza had received about US$250 million believed to have been misappropriated from 1MDB in 2011 and 2012.

It was reported that 1MDB claimed that Riza, who controls Red Granite Pictures and Red Granite Capital, "knew or ought to have known that those funds had been misappropriated".

It was reported that 1MDB claimed that Riza, Red Granite Pictures and Red Granite Capital used the money for, among others, their personal benefits, to finance movie production and buy properties.

According to news reports, 1MDB alleged that Shearman & Sterling had allowed Riza and his associate Low Taek Jho (also known as Jho Low), to use the law firm's interest on lawyer accounts to launder a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds.

It was reported that 1MDB alleged, among others, that Shearman & Sterling had actual knowledge about the source and nature of the money and that Shearman & Sterling failed to make necessary enquiries on whether the money involved proceeds of crime.

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