The Paris Court of Appeal has annulled the US$14.9 billion (RM61.38 billion) ‘final award’ involving the so-called heirs of the defunct Sulu sultanate and ordered them to pay €200,000 (RM957,140) in costs to Malaysia.
Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said that according to the court judgment obtained by Putrajaya, the arbitration award was annulled as Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa lacked jurisdiction to render the “final award” to the claimants on Feb 28, 2022, there being no valid arbitration agreement binding Malaysia.
“Malaysia trusts this victory will put an end to all the baseless attempts from the so-called Sulu claimants and their litigation funder Therium to extort money and assets from the people of Malaysia.
“In any event, Malaysia stands ready to continue its fight before any court called upon by the so-called Sulu claimants,” Azalina said in a statement today.
She said Putrajaya reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to defend Malaysia’s sovereignty, immunity and national interests “against the baseless claims made in the Sulu fraud”.
This decision was the latest in a string of court victories earned by Malaysia.
Previously, eight Filipino nationals claiming to be heirs of the now-defunct Sulu Sultanate filed arbitration proceedings in Spain to demand billions of US dollars from Malaysia over issues involving Sabah. In March 2019, a court in Madrid appointed Stampa as the arbitrator for the case.
On Feb 28, 2022, Stampa ruled in favour of the group and issued a “final award” of US$14.9 billion through an arbitration process, despite his appointment having already been annulled by a Spanish court.
