Malaysia Wins Appeal Against Partial Award in $15 Billion Claim

7/6/2023 12:40

        A Paris court has upheld the Malaysian government's challenge against enforcing a partial award to the heirs of a former sultan who won $15 billion in an arbitration over a colonial-era land deal, Malaysia said late on Tuesday.
        
        The win for Malaysia implies the final award will be annulled and the descendants' efforts to seize Malaysian assets will end, the government said.
        
        "This decision, which is final and binding, is a decisive victory for Malaysia in its ongoing pursuit of legal remedies, which Malaysia is confident will result in comprehensive defeat for the claimants and their funders," said Law Minister Azalina Othman Said.
        
        The claimants said they would consider their options before the French Supreme Court.
        
        The Filipino heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu won a $14.9-billion award in a French arbitration court last year in a long-running dispute over the deal, after a partial award was first issued in May 2020.