SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 29 – The 1MDB
scandal has stretched from Malaysia to the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of New York, where Inner
City Press covered the Roger Ng criminal trial now to the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New
York.
Kasseem Dean a/k/a Swizz Beatz has
been sued for the over $7 million in 1MDB money he took.
On April 23 there was a 2 pm conference scheduled in the
case and Inner City Press went. But the outer door to the
courtroom was locked.
After a time it open. The lawyers
went in. But when Inner City Press tried the door, it was
locked again. After a time it was opened and Inner City
Press went in. But the transparency - which is required -
was short-lived:
Defense lawyer: We asked Mr Dean for
documents... Yesterday we learned there may be more.
Plaintiffs' lawyer: They admit there were
$8 million from the fraudster - but how is he
co-mingling?
Judge: It doesn't matter if he bought a
boat Judge: Can we go into the back room? Just because of
some of the things you've sent it. Go through that door
[They disappear.]
Update: After 35 minutes behind closed
doors - in this public corruption case - the lawyers came
out of the robing room and left. Judge still not out. No
summary. No statement of the basis for taking the case
behind closed doors.
This makes Inner City Press cover
the case more closely. On April 24 it emerged that in the
wrongfully-closed session the judge questioning the
timeliness of new claims and "proposed new defendant
Monique Blake," Swizz Beatz' manager.
Full filing on Patreon here.
On April 27 Judge Buchwald set a schedule:
"Plaintiffs may submit a letter by Friday, May 1, 2026.
Defendants may submit a responsive letter, if any, by
Friday, May 8, 2026. So ordered. (Signed by Judge Naomi
Reice Buchwald on 4/27/2026)."
On May 15, docketing of the Second Amended Complaint,
table on fraudulent transactions from September 21, 2012
to September 4, 2014 - this as Jho Low is reported seeking
a pardon. But can you get a pardon if you fled and were
never convicted?
On June 29, Judge Buchwald amended the
schedule: "REVISED SCHEDULING ORDER granting [71] Letter
Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery. IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 1. All fact discovery shall be
completed by August 31, 2026. a. Defendants shall complete
all outstanding document productions by July 15, 2026. b.
All depositions of fact witnesses must be completed by
August 31, 2026. 2. All expert discovery, including
disclosures, reports, production of underling documents,
and depositions shall be completed by November 16, 2026.
a. The parties shall exchange initial expert reports on or
by September 30, 2026. b. Rebuttal expert reports shall be
submitted on or before October 30, 2026. 3. No later than
November 30, 2026 the parties are to submit a joint
post-discovery letter updating the Court on the status of
the case, including but not limited to whether either
party intends to file a dispositive motion and what
efforts the parties have made to settle the action. If
either party contemplates filing a dispositive motion, the
parties will propose a dispositive motion briefing
schedule in this post-discovery letter. SO ORDERED.
Deposition due by 11/16/2026. (Signed by Judge Naomi Reice
Buchwald on 6/29/2026)."
More analysis of secrecy on X for
Subscribers here
and Substack here.
The case is Barkhouse v. Dean, et al.,
1:24-cv-7491 (Buchwald)
