KUALA LUMPUR – Spanish arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa has been sentenced to six months in prison and banned from practising as an arbitrator for a year, after the Spanish courts found him guilty of contempt of court, according to Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
On X (formerly Twitter), the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) announced the update on the case where he was accused of transgressions in handling the Sulu Sultanate dispute with Malaysia.
This comes after the Spanish public prosecutor filed a case against Stampa in the Madrid Criminal Court in December last year.
“The efforts by this Kerajaan Madani in addressing and putting a stop to the Sulu Fraud has not been in vain,” Azalina said.
“We persist in the fight for justice, and will continue our efforts to annul the Final Award.”
In December, Azalina said she hoped Stampa would “be thrown in prison because of his very disrespectful attitude toward Malaysia and its people.”
Azalina expressed her hope for a court ruling that would offer additional assurance to Malaysians, ensuring that no further “ridiculous incidents” occur in the future.
The Pengerang MP explained that Stampa was also accused of unqualified professional practice – on top of his criminal offence of serious contempt of court – as he had “openly and knowingly disobeyed” several of the Madrid High Court of Justice’s binding orders.
This came after his appointment as an arbitrator over the Sulu Sultanate case was annulled, following the Court’s judgement that Malaysia was improperly summoned in arbitrator appointment proceedings.
As a result, Azalina said the whole arbitration process involving Stampa has been invalid.
Malaysia is in the final process of annulling the US$14.9 billion (RM69.9 billion) awarded by Stampa to self-claimed heirs of the defunct Sulu Sultanate.
Previously, eight citizens from the Philippines claiming to be heirs of the Sulu Sultanate had filed for arbitration proceedings in Spain to seek billions of US dollars from Malaysia over Sabah.
In March 2019, the Madrid High Court of Justice appointed Stampa as the arbitrator for the case. – January 8, 2024
