High Court deputy registrar Mahyuddin Md Som said counsel for a respondent had written in earlier to postpone the hearing today.

“It is due to the current Covid-19 situation and the parties are still in discussions to settle the matter,” he said in a text message.

He said the prosecution had no objection to the case being adjourned while an interim freeze order was still in force.

Mahyuddin said case management had been fixed for Dec 14.

On Oct 1, lawyer Alex Tan, representing Petro Saudi International’s South American subsidiary company, PetroSaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) Ltd, in asking for more time, told the court “there are some developments” in the case.

“On behalf of the company, there is a need to review our position and seek further instructions,” he said.

Counsel Yusof Zainal Abiden, appearing for Petro Saudi director Tarek Obaid, said he was also taking the same position.

Trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali then fixed the hearing for today.

The prosecution is contending that the US$340,258,246.87 in Clyde & Co LLP belonging to PetroSaudi and its subsidiary company was gained through unlawful activities.

The Malaysian government is also seeking to bar the use of an undisclosed sum kept in a bank account under the name Temple Fiduciary Services Ltd.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer Mohd Afiq Abdul Aziz, in his affidavit to support the application, claimed the money was related to a conspiracy to defraud 1MDB, involving Tarek, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho and former prime minister Najib Razak.

The court, in July, granted a temporary order restraining PetroSaudi International and Tarek from using the said 1MDB funds, pending the disposal of the government’s bid to obtain the freezing order.