Malaysia Government Wins Appeal in Altantuya Shaariibuu Family Lawsuit

KUALA LUMPUR – The family of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006 by two bodyguards assigned to protect officials including former Malaysian premier Najib Razak, lost their bid for damages from the Malaysian government after a court upheld its appeal. The Court of Appeal accepted a petition from the government to overturn the family’s victory in a civil lawsuit first brought more than 18 years ago, Justice Muniandy Kannyappan said on Jan 20 via video conference. The decision means a lawsuit that began in the aftermath of the Mongolian woman’s brutal killing may go all the way to Malaysia’s highest court. Ms Sangeet Kaur Deo, the lawyer representing Altantuya’s relatives, said the family intends to appeal to the Federal Court. The three-member bench of judges rejected the appeal from Altantuya’s former lover, Mr Abdul Razak Baginda, ordering him to pay more than RM1.38 million ringgit (S$438,316) in damages to the family. Mr Abdul Razak, a former adviser to Najib, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he will appeal the court decision. Court documents and trial testimony confirm he and Altantuya had a romantic relationship. In October 2006, Altantuya was abducted outside Mr Abdul Razak’s home and taken to a forest outside Kuala Lumpur, where court records show she was shot twice in the head and killed with explosives. Mr Abdul Razak helped broker Malaysia’s 2002 purchase of submarines from a French state-owned company. Najib was defence minister at the time of the deal, which is now under investigation for corruption in Malaysia and France. Two secret-service policemen, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, who were part of a bodyguard detail for Najib and other senior Malaysian leaders, were convicted of her murder, but a motive was never established. Mr Abdul Razak, who denies involvement, was charged with abetting the murder. He was later acquitted and the prosecution didn’t appeal at the time. Both Azilah and Sirul were sentenced to death. Sirul fled to Australia , which will not extradite him because Malaysia retains capital punishment. Azilah remains in prison in Malaysia, and his sentence was changed to 40 years after the government abolished the mandatory death penalty in 2023. Azilah used an earlier sworn affidavit to support his application for life imprisonment, in which he alleged Najib gave the order for her to be killed. Najib has consistently denied any role in Altantuya’s death. He was never charged, and has not been linked to the crime by any court finding. In 2022, the government, Mr Abdul Razak and two former secret-service policemen were found jointly liable for Altantuya’s murder. The family applied to the court for the judgment to be enforced because the parties haven’t paid damages yet. In 2025, a judge ordered both the government and Mr Abdul Razak to pay RM4.7 million each in damages and deposit the funds until their appeals were heard. This latest ruling on Jan 20 means the family’s claim against the government has been dismissed and Mr Abdul Razak has to pay less in damages. Najib is in prison in Malaysia after being convicted of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering in relation to 1MDB, the fund that became the centre of a multibillion dollar scandal which spawned probes across continents. His sentence was halved to six years in 2024. In December, Najib was sentenced to 15 years and fined RM11.4 billion (S$3.6 billion) on additional 1MDB charges. He has denied any wrongdoing. In October, a Malaysian court gave Altantuya’s father, Dr Shaariibuu Setev, permission to pursue a judicial review to compel Malaysian authorities to investigate the contents of Azilah’s affidavit. The case is ongoing. BLOOMBERG