KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government is celebrating the Madrid Criminal Court’s ruling on rogue arbitrator Dr Gonzalo Stampa, who has been convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to six months in jail, as a major win for the rule of law. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said issued a statement on Monday (Jan 1) indicating that the decision will also help maintain the integrity of international arbitration as an alternative form of dispute resolution.
She added that Malaysia believes that this historic decision will serve as a deterrent against the nefarious activities of the perpetrators of the Sulu fraud. “The government of Malaysia will continue to ensure that the sovereignty, security, and interests of Malaysia are protected at all times,” she stated in the release.
Azalina stated that the criminal court determined that Stampa had knowingly acted to prevent the annulment order from taking effect, an action unbecoming of a lawyer. Additionally, the criminal court found that Stampa was obligated to comply with the orders of the Madrid High Court of Justice, regardless of his opinion on the validity of such court orders.
“On 8 Jan 2024, Malaysia secured another landmark victory in Spain following the decision of the Madrid Criminal Court, which found Stampa guilty of contempt of court in criminal proceedings brought by the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office and Malaysia.
“The Madrid Criminal Court has sentenced Dr Stampa to six months imprisonment and banned him from practising as an arbitrator for one year for knowingly and blatantly disobeying the clear rulings and orders from the Madrid High Court of Justice,” she said.
Azalina previously posted on X, stating that the MadaniI Government’s efforts in addressing and halting the Sulu fraud have not been wasted and that the government will persist in fighting for justice and continue efforts to annul the Final Award.
She stated that on June 29, 2021, the Madrid High Court of Justice issued a final order annulling Stampa’s appointment and all of his procedural actions due to Malaysia being improperly summoned in the arbitrator appointment proceedings. Consequently, the Madrid High Court of Justice ordered that Malaysia be correctly summoned and for the proceedings to be recommenced.
Despite the Claimants’ attempt to appeal the decision, the annulment of Stampa’s appointment was confirmed. “Despite the final and binding order by the Madrid High Court of Justice, Stampa continued to blatantly ignore and disobey the orders of the same court that appointed him and proceeded to change the seat from Madrid to Paris in order to continue with the sham and abusive arbitration proceedings which resulted in the issuance of the purported final award of close to USD15bil against Malaysia.
“Notably, in advance of delivering his purported Final Award against Malaysia, Dr Stampa requested and received more than USD2.7mil in “fees” from the Claimants via their funder Therium,” Azalina said. – Bernama
