KUALA LUMPUR: Rosli Dahlan, the lawyer named as respondent in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) application regarding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) settlement with Goldman Sachs and the Malaysian government, is seeking to have the application dismissed.
In an affidavit in reply (AIR) filed today, he argued that the requested documents are not exclusively held by his firm.
He contended that most of these documents originated from and were currently in the possession and control of 1MDB, which falls under the Finance Ministry.
"When the firm was terminated, most of these documents were also handed over to 1MDB's new solicitor Messrs Lim Chee Wee Partnership.
"The fact that MACC did not attempt to exhaust all efforts to obtain these privileged documents from 1MDB or Messrs Lim Chee Wee Partnership suggests a sinister motive to embarrass the firm and I, and to make us scapegoats in the public controversy that MACC had generated," said in the court document sighted by the New Straits Times.
Rosli Dahlan Saravanan (RDS), located in Publika, Solaris Dutamas was raided by MACC on Oct 6.
Rosli, a partner at RDS, serves as the lead counsel for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) as well as Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman and Pagoh member of parliament Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
It was also reported that RDS is handling Muhyiddin's defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said a lawyer, believed to have been involved in money laundering during the recovery efforts of the 1MDB assets by the government, is being investigated.
Investigations were ongoing on the corruption case under the MACC Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001.
MACC then filed an application to obtain documents related to the 1MDB US$6.5 billion bond settlement between Goldman Sachs and the government of Malaysia, naming Rosli, Chetan Jethwani, and their law firms RDS and Chetan Jethwani & Co. (CJ & Co.) to surrender the impugned documents.
RDS was the law firm representing 1MDB while CJ & Co. acted on behalf of Goldman Sachs.
In the court document filed today, Rosli also said that it would be impossible to have received a bribe in the settlement.
He said that the negotiations for the matter were led by a task force headed by Attorney General and Solicitor General II while other agencies including MACC were also involved in the task force.
"As such it is preposterous to suggest that the MACC would have allowed the firm and I to manipulate the task force.
"It is to be noted that both Goldman Sachs and Ambank Settlements, the payment of the settlement sums were paid directly to the Finance Ministry's designated account.
"None of the monies passed through the firm or me.
"As such it is malicious to suggest that I could have manipulated or obtained gratification in both settlements," he added.
He stressed that there is no need to make the application in court as the firm has already written to 1MDB, twice, for consent to release the privileged documents to the applicant.
"I verily believe that the application amounts to an abuse of the court's process with the true motive behind it remaining a matter of speculation.
"It could potentially be an attempt to embark on a fishing expedition, or perhaps something even more sinister.
"In this circumstances, I respectfully pray that the applicant's application be dismissed with costs," he said.