Justice Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, in delivering his decision today, said the court was satisfied that special circumstances existed to justify a stay of execution pending appeal.

Fairuz noted that Najib is simultaneously subject to another monetary judgment arising from proceedings instituted against him by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), as well as fines imposed against him as a result of criminal convictions.

“These simultaneous judgments and orders faced by the defendant (Najib), when taken together, make up special circumstances on why stay is to be granted,” he said.

He said the stay order will defer, but not extinguish, SRC International’s entitlement to the fruits of the judgment.

“The defendant, on the other hand, would suffer irreversible prejudice if execution were to proceed,” he said.

The court also ordered Najib to pay a global sum of RM2 million to SRC International’s solicitors, and RM150,000 each to solicitors of the third parties.

On March 31, the court held Najib liable for US$1.18 billion in losses suffered by the company and an additional US$120 million in quantified damages after finding that he had orchestrated the misappropriation of funds into his personal bank account.

A judgment in default was also entered against the second defendant, the company’s former CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who remains at large.

SRC International filed a suit in May 2021, naming former company chairman Ismee Ismail, as well as former directors Suboh Yasin, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Azhar Osman Khairuddin and Che Abdullah @ Rashidi Che Omar as co-defendants.

The company later dropped the case against them, but Najib subsequently added them as third parties.

Counsel Lim Chee Wee represented SRC International while Shafee Abdullah and Farhan Shafee represented Najib.