Canadian firm linked to Taib seeks injunction against Bruno Manser Fund

KUCHING: Sakto Corporation, a Canadian company linked to the family of Sarawak Governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, is seeking an injunction against the Swiss non-governmental organisation (NGO) Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).

Sakto, a real estate firm run by Taib's daughter Jamilah Taib Murray and her husband Sean Murray, filed an application for the injunction at the Basel civil court in Switzerland on Monday (Aug 20).

"The injunction seeks to order BMF to remove from the public domain a litany of false statements and speculative allegations relating to Sakto.

"These total over 1,100 infringing statements and over 250 publications. 

"The injunction also seeks to prevent BMF from repeating the defamatory comments," the company said in a statement released through public relations firm GRA Communications Sdn Bhd.

Sakto said BMF's campaign against it was based on false allegations, which had created a "wrong and damaging" impression of its reputation and business.

It noted that since 2010, BMF had filed 11 complaints and letters in six jurisdictions against the company.

Denying the allegations of corruption and money-laundering, Sakto said BMF's campaign was based on "suspicion and conjecture, rather than facts".

In response, BMF said it maintained its allegations against Sakto as presented in its "Safe Haven Canada" report last year.

"We are not worried about this attempt by the Taib family to prevent us from talking about the corruption and money-laundering allegations against them. 

"Our reports are well-researched and the facts are on our side," BMF director Lukas Straumann said in a statement on the NGO's website.