Malaysian Palm Oil Exporter Drops Lawsuit Against Forced Labor Activist

Malaysian palm oil exporter Sime Darby Plantation Berhad moved to dismiss a lawsuit against Duncan Jepson, managing director of the nongovernmental organization Liberty Shared, because the underlying investigation by the Securities Commission of Malaysia was dropped, in a March 16 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Sime Darby had sought to force Jepson to disclose information relevant to forced labor allegations Jepson filed with the Securities Commission in connection with the investigation (see 2103120040). The U.S. still has a withhold release order in place on the company's palm oil.