Altantuya family refunds US$1.19m in damages after appeal court clears government of liability
Altantuya Shaariibuu’s family has refunded RM4.7 million to the Malaysian government after the Court of Appeal ruled the state was not liable for her murder, with their lawyer stressing the case “was never about money”.
- Altantuya Shaariibuu’s family has refunded RM4.7 million (about US$1.19 million) to the Malaysian government after the Court of Appeal ruled the state was not liable for her murder.
- The family’s lawyer said the money was never used and was kept untouched in a stakeholder account, in compliance with court orders.
- The Court of Appeal upheld findings that Abdul Razak Baginda and two former policemen were liable for Altantuya’s death.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The family of murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu has refunded RM4.7 million, or about US$1.19 million, to the Malaysian government following a Court of Appeal ruling that the state was not liable for her killing nearly two decades ago.
The refund was confirmed by lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who represents Altantuya’s family, in a statement dated 5 February 2026. She said the entire sum had been remitted in full to the government.
According to Sangeet, the payment consisted of the full judgment sum and all accrued interest that had previously been paid pursuant to a conditional stay order issued by the Shah Alam High Court.
She said the funds were preserved untouched in a stakeholder account from the moment they were received, in strict compliance with the court’s order.
“Not a single cent was utilised for any purpose,” she said in the statement.
Sangeet added that the same approach was taken in respect of the sum ordered against Abdul Razak Baginda, amounting to RM1.38 million, or approximately US$340,362.
She said that remittance was also effected in accordance with the deductions ordered by the Court of Appeal.
Quoting Altantuya’s father, Sangeet stressed that the long-running civil action was never about financial compensation.
“As Altantuya’s father has consistently said, this case has never been about money,” she said.
“What he seeks are answers, accountability and acknowledgement,” she added.
She said the prompt and full return of the money, together with the interest earned, reflected that position “in the clearest possible terms”.
Killing ruled outside scope of police duties
The refund followed a decision by the Court of Appeal, which ruled that the government was not vicariously liable for the actions of former policemen Sirul Azhar Umar and Azilah Hadri.
The appellate court found that the two men were not acting in the course of their official duties at the time of Altantuya’s murder.
As a result, the court set aside the finding that the government bore responsibility for their actions.
However, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s finding that Abdul Razak Baginda, together with Sirul and Azilah, was liable for Altantuya’s death.
The ruling maintained Razak’s civil liability, despite clearing the government of responsibility.
Background to Altantuya’s killing and civil suit
Altantuya was abducted on 19 October 2006 outside Abdul Razak’s home and taken to a forested area outside Kuala Lumpur, where court records show she was shot twice in the head and her body destroyed with explosives.
Abdul Razak had been involved in brokering Malaysia’s 2002 purchase of submarines from a French state-owned company, a deal later investigated for corruption in Malaysia and France.
Najib Razak, who was defence minister at the time and later became prime minister, was not charged over Altantuya’s killing and has consistently denied any involvement.
Two members of an elite police unit assigned to protect senior officials, Azilah and Sirul, were convicted of the murder and initially sentenced to death.
Sirul fled to Australia, which has refused extradition because Malaysia retained capital punishment at the time, while Azilah remains imprisoned in Malaysia.
After the abolition of the mandatory death penalty in 2023, Azilah’s sentence was commuted to 40 years’ imprisonment.
In a sworn affidavit filed earlier, Azilah alleged that Najib had ordered Altantuya’s killing, a claim Najib has denied and which has not been upheld by any court.
In 2022, the High Court ordered the government and Razak to jointly and severally pay RM5 million in damages to Altantuya’s family.
The court also ordered interest to be paid from the date the suit was filed, significantly increasing the overall sum.
Subsequently, in 2025, the High Court ordered the government and Razak to each pay RM4.7 million, bringing the total to RM9.4 million.
Najib is currently serving prison sentences for multiple corruption offences linked to the 1MDB scandal, separate from the Altantuya case.
In December 2025, the former PM was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined RM13.4 billion (approx. US$2.8 billion) for abuse of power and money laundering in connection with the 1MDB scandal
In October 2025, the High Court granted Altantuya’s father, Dr Shaariibuu Setev, permission to pursue a judicial review to compel authorities to investigate the contents of Azilah’s affidavit.
