French court annuls cash bid by late sultan's heirs in Malaysia land dispute

KUALA LUMPUR, ‌Dec 10 (Reuters) - A French court has annulled a legal bid by the heirs ‍of ‌a former sultan who sought nearly $15 billion from Malaysia, drawing a line under a ⁠lengthy dispute that stems from a colonial-era ‌land deal. 

The Paris Court of Appeal annulled the heirs' bid in a verdict on Tuesday, and ordered that they pay 200,000 euros ($232,800) to Malaysia, the Malaysian government said in a statement on ⁠Wednesday after receiving the ruling from the court.

A lawyer for the heirs described the ruling as "disappointing" and ​said they would appeal.

"Malaysia trusts that this victory will put ‌an end to all the baseless attempts ⁠from the so-called Sulu claimants to extort money and assets from the people of Malaysia," the government said in its statement.

COMPLEX DISPUTE HAS ROOTS IN 19TH CENTURY

Malaysia ​had been left stunned in 2022 when the Filipino heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu won a $14.9 billion award in a French arbitration court, prompting them to go after Malaysian assets.

But in November 2024, France's top civil court ruled in ​favour of ‍Malaysia, rejecting an appeal from ​the heirs and confirming a lower tribunal's ruling to uphold the Malaysian government's challenge against enforcing a partial award.

European colonists had signed a deal with the Sultan of Sulu in 1878 for use of his territory, which spanned islands in the southern Philippines and parts of present-day Malaysia on Borneo island.

Independent Malaysia had paid a token sum ⁠annually to the sultan's heirs to honour the agreement but stopped in 2013, after supporters of the former sultanate launched a ​bloody incursion to try to reclaim land from Malaysia.

The heirs have maintained they had no involvement in the incursion and sought arbitration over the suspension of the payments.

A lawyer for the heirs, Paul Cohen, told Reuters on Wednesday ‌that they would appeal the latest judgement, saying: "Malaysia... cannot change the sovereignty decisions that it has bought at such a price." 

($1 = 0.8591 euros)

(Reporting by Danial AzharEditing by Gareth Jones)