Judge Zaini Mazlan made the ruling after hearing submissions from the prosecution as the applicant as well as lawyers representing the respondents.

“I do not see any reasonable grounds for the application, so I reject the prosecution’s application to stay the execution of the order for the return of the property,” the judge said.

On Nov 8 last year, Zaini had ordered that the seized items, including luxury handbags, 27 vehicles and cash in various currencies, should not be forfeited to the Malaysian government. The seizures were made during investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

Deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffery Ong urged the court to consider that the prosecution had applied for an adjournment as there was an appeal against the forfeiture decision that was being heard at the Court of Appeal.

“The Court of Appeal has set Sept 6 for case management and the prosecution is still waiting for the appeal record. We still have jurisdiction over the seized items until the case is decided by the Court of Appeal,” he said.

Besides Najib, Rosmah, and their sons – Nor Ashman Razak and Riza Aziz (Rosmah’s son from a previous marriage) – the respondents are Senijauhar Sdn Bhd, Aiman Ruslan, Goh Gaik Ewe, Roger Ng (former Goldman Sachs banker) and his wife Lim Hwee Bin.

Lawyers Mardhiyah Siraj and Azamuddin Aziz, representing Najib, Riza and Nor Ashman, requested the court to dismiss the prosecution’s application on the grounds that there were no special circumstances permitting the stay.

They said that the 12-month seal order on the property had also expired.

Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, representing Ng and his wife, informed the court that his clients had been allowed direct access to their bank accounts at Maybank (Plaza Damansara branch) and RHB Bank (Bangsar Shopping Centre Office Tower branch) following a suit they filed against the two banks.

He said he did not know if there was still money in the accounts since the two banks had allowed Ng and his wife direct access to their accounts since last April.