Azhar Osman Khairuddin wants to include former company chairman Ismee Ismail and former director Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi on grounds that “there are questions that should be determined between the plaintiff (SRC International) and co-defendant (Azhar), as well as Shahrol and Ismee”.
In his application filed at the High Court hearing the suit, Azhar cited four questions – related to constructive trusteeship of money, dishonest assistance, conspiracy and wrongful conversion – that needed to be determined in the case in which he wants Ismee and Shahrol to be included.
The third party notices were filed on Aug 27.
Shahrol and Ismee had first been named as co-defendants in SRC International’s lawsuit but their names were dropped last month.
Both had testified against former prime minister Najib Razak in his SRC International and 1MDB cases.
SRC International is continuing its legal action against Azhar, Najib, and other former directors Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Suboh Md Yassin and Che Abdullah @ Rashid Che Omar.
The company, owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc), claims that Najib and the former directors committed breach of duty, breach of trust, receipt of wrongful property, dishonest assistance, conspiracy and wrongful conversion of SRC property.
According to the statement of claim, the defendants were also allegedly involved in abuse of power or authority, dishonesty and misappropriation of SRC International funds and acting with the knowledge or probability of harming the company.
The company claimed Najib, as the advisor emeritus and leader of the government, supported the company and gave the go-ahead for it to get RM4 billion in KWAP (pension fund) loans in 2011 and 2012, leading to the bulk of the funds being transferred overseas and not recovered.
SRC International wants them to pay US$1.8 billion in damages, the sum being the loss of proposed investment funds.
Najib was convicted by the High Court in his SRC International case, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine for misappropriating RM42 million in company funds. He is appealing against the conviction.