BAILIFFS in Luxembourg have seized two Petronas subsidiaries in Azerbaijan as part of an ongoing dispute between heirs of the Sulu sultanate and the government of Malaysia.

According to a report in the Financial Times, bailiffs took over the Luxembourg-registered offices of Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and Petronas South Caucasus – with estimated net worth of nearly RM9 billion – as part of an ongoing dispute between the heirs and the government.

In March, a French court of arbitration ruled that Malaysia must pay the heirs RM62.6 billion for ceding Sabah to British interests in 1878, which were then later passed to Malaysia.

The government had been paying the heirs an annual stipend of RM5,300, but cancelled this payment following the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013.

The Malaysian Insight has reached out to Petronas and Wisma Putra, and is awaiting their response.

Shortly after the March ruling, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia would not recognise the decision, given that the powers of arbitrator Gondoza Stampa had been revoked.

Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah also said that the government would be sending diplomatic notes to 168 countries, asking them to inform Wisma Putra if any similar claims were filed in their respective jurisdictions. – July 12, 2022.