Najib and Rosmah apply to strike out Deepak's suit
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor filed their defence to Deepak Jaikishin's RM676 million lawsuit today, and will also file an application to strike it out.
The carpet trader is suing Najib and Rosmah, along with two other companies – Boustead Holdings Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary Bakti Development Wira Sdn Bhd – for conspiracy and interfering in a property deal that purportedly caused his company to suffer huge losses.
Lawyer David Mathews, representing Najib and Rosmah, said he had informed Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Azimah Omar on his clients' intention to file the striking-out application...
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor filed their defence to Deepak Jaikishin's RM676 million lawsuit today, and will also file an application to strike it out.
The carpet trader is suing Najib and Rosmah, along with two other companies – Boustead Holdings Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary Bakti Development Wira Sdn Bhd – for conspiracy and interfering in a property deal that purportedly caused his company to suffer huge losses.
Lawyer David Mathews, representing Najib and Rosmah, said he had informed Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Azimah Omar on his clients' intention to file the striking-out application.
Mathews said the judge instructed him to file the striking-out application by Jan 7.
"We already filed our clients' defence today. Following that, Azimah fixed Jan 14 for case management," he told Malaysiakini.
Deepak's lawyer Irzan Irsat told Malaysiakini that Boustead Holdings and Bakti Development Wira had also filed their own striking-out application.
"Azimah asked us to reply to the striking-out application by the two companies by Jan 7," he said.
Boustead and Bakti Wira were represented by lawyer Kenny Chan.
In October, Deepak named Najib, Rosmah, Boustead and Bakti Wira as defendants who allegedly exerted undue influence on him to purchase three parcels of land near Bukit Raja and to let it go at a later date.
The 180ha plot of land is said to be the venue for the National Defence Study Centre, which was to be built in 2007.
In Deepak's statement of claim, he alleged that a privatisation agreement was entered on June 8, 2005, with Awan Megah Sdn Bhd to construct the defence centre.
Awan Megah then offered the land to Astacanggih Sdn Bhd – a company majority-owned by Deepak – for RM118.57 million.
Following an acquisition agreement in 2007, Astacanggih paid RM13 million and issued a bank guarantee for RM72.5 million as land bond for the project.
'Another deal entered in 2010'
Deepak further claimed that then-Selangor Wanita Umno chief Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah owns Awan Megah and is said to be a proxy of Najib and Rosmah.
However, Raja Ropiaah entered another deal in 2010 to sell the land to GuppyUnip Sdn Bhd, which went against the original agreement made with Astacanggih.
As a result, Deepak filed the suit against Awan Megah and a hearing was held. However, he claimed he was then forced to withdraw his suit under pressure from authorities.
The carpet trader went on to claim that Najib and Rosmah used Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) to acquire his 80 percent shareholding in Astacanggih, using Boustead through its subsidiary Bakti Wira.
He said he was eventually only paid RM30 million in 2012 for the acquisition of his share, despite the company being worth more following the land acquisition.
According to Deepak, the land was priced at RM14 psf during the Boustead acquisition, but was sold to a listed company for RM60 psf a week later.
He is seeking RM600 million in general damages, RM50 million in exemplary damages and RM26 million in aggravated damages.
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