Explained: Why a late Sultan’s heirs want Malaysia to pay $15bn over a colonial-era land dispute | Explained News,The Indian Express

Malaysia's state oil and gas producer, Petronas, is being told to pay around $15 billion for settling a colonial-era land dispute of a former kingdom spread across Malaysia and the Philippines. What is the case, and how has the government responded?

Malaysia’s state oil and gas producer, Petronas, is being told to pay around $15 billion for settling a colonial-era land dispute of a former kingdom spread across Malaysia and the Philippines.

Petronas has operations in more than 50 countries, including India, and its iconic twin towers are some of the most prominent landmarks in Kuala Lumpur.

A French arbitration court that had the case before it ordered the Malaysian government to pay $14.9 billion to the descendants of a late Sultan in February this year.

In order to enforce the award, the claimants moved to seize two Luxembourg-based units of Petronas, Financial Times reported. However, Malaysia said it obtained a stay on this ruling on July 13 citing threat to its sovereignty.

In an email statement, Petronas said: “Petronas contests the validity of these enforcement actions against its two aforementioned subsidiaries and is taking all necessary measures to defend its legal position,” reported Reuters.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/malaysia-petronas-dispute-sulu-kingdom-sultan-8038849/

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