Irb Awaits Court Directions In Bid To Declare Najib Bankrupt Over Tax Arrears

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Datuk Seri Najib Razak seen arriving at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex ahead of his ongoing trial. -NSTP/HARI ANGGARA.KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is awaiting instructions from the High Court (Insolvency) in its pursuit to declare former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as bankrupt, following his failure to pay RM1.7 billion in income tax arrears.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that is the current step being taken by the IRB after Najib's numerous appeals to stay such proceedings.
"The income tax arrears owed by Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the assessment years 2011 to 2017 have not been settled, involving an amount of RM1.7 billion as ordered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court through a summary judgment in 2020," Anwar said in a written parliamentary reply last night.
The IRB initiated action to recover the tax arrears through civil proceedings in 2019 and subsequently filed a Bankruptcy Notice in 2021.
However, Najib had filed an application to stay the bankruptcy proceedings at the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Insolvency) to annul the Bankruptcy Notice against him.
The application was dismissed in 2024, and Najib once again filed a notice of appeal against the court's decision in 2025.
On Nov 17, this year, the High Court dismissed his appeal. The case is now pending at the Court of Appeal.
"The next course of action by the IRB is case management to obtain further directions at the High Court (Insolvency)," he added.
Anwar was responding to Pang Hok Liong (PH-Labis) on whether the former prime minister had settled his arrears and the actions being taken by the IRB to realise the debts. - NST

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