Salor assemblyperson Husam Musa said he and lawyer Matthias Chang voluntarily withdrew their class action suit related to 1MDB in order to incorporate new developments into their initial complaint.
The new developments include the joint application by Red Granite Pictures and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to limit the freeze on the production house's accounts.
The joint application was made after Red Granite Pictures agreed to ring-fence earnings from 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and another movie, 'Friends With Kids', pending the outcome of the DOJ's asset forfeiture suit.
"We have to adapt the suit to present developments, without affecting our efforts to bring back the assets and monies embezzled from 1MDB," said Husam in a statement tonight.
The duo had filed the suit against eight US-based individuals and organisations linked to alleged embezzlement and money laundering involving 1MDB.
The class action suit, which was filed in August in the US, was to seek damages for the theft of the state investment firm's funds as well as to recover assets acquired using the stolen funds.
The defendants in the case were Goldman Sachs Group, Debra Whelan Johnson, Timothy Leissner, Christopher Joey McFarland, Metropolis IX Capital Advisors, LLC, Red Granite Pictures, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's stepson Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz and controversial financier Jho low.
The duo's class action followed the DOJ civil forfeiture suits which sought to seize more than US$1 billion in assets allegedly acquired using stolen 1MDB funds.
However, yesterday, US-based attorneys acting for Husam and Chang filed a notice for the voluntary dismissal of their suit in the New York Southern District Court.
Husam said today that Red Granite's conceding to allow profits from both movies to be segregated showed that 'Friends With Kids' may have also been produced using 1MDB-linked funds.
He denied Red Granite's recent assertion that his and Chang's suit was fractious, noting that if this were true, the movie production house would not have agreed to segregate its future and current profits.
Husam also denied Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak's assertion that his suit was dismissed by the court.
The dismissal of the suit was voluntary on his and Chang's part, he said, and was made under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i) of the United States Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
As the dismissal was without prejudice, they are allowed to refile the case later, after making amendments to incorporate recent developments.
Other developments which Husam did not mention may include the fact that the Wall Street investment company Electrum is setting aside profits linked to investments made by businessman Jho Low, pending the outcome of the DOJ lawsuits to seize 1MDB-linked assets.
Meanwhile, Chang assured Malaysiakini that the duo knew what they were doing and that it was all part of their plan.
"Dont worry. (He who) laughs last, laughs best. Salleh Keruak's press statement is counting chickens before they are hatched. All thunder but no rain.
"We know what we are doing. Watch my video speech again 'DOJ Bombshell'. Soon he has to eat back all his words. Have faith in God," Chang said in a WhatsApp message.
