Malaysia stopped paying the Sulu sultan's heirs in 2013, and a Spanish arbitrator awarded them US$14.92 billion

On 22 January 1878 the Sultan of Sulu signed a grant to Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent over his lands on the mainland of Borneo, "for ever and in perpetuity", in return for 5,000 dollars a year to the sultan "his heirs or successors". A 1903 deed added islands and 300 dollars a year. Disputes were to go to the British Consul-General for Borneo, a post that no longer exists. North Borneo became Sabah, and Malaysia paid the heirs until 2013. In February 2013 about 200 armed men sent by Jamalul Kiram III, another claimed heir, landed at Lahad Datu, and Malaysia stopped the payments. Eight Philippine citizens who say they are heirs of Jamalul Kiram II sought arbitration. A Madrid court appointed Gonzalo Stampa as arbitrator, then annulled his appointment in June 2021. Stampa moved the case to Paris and in February 2022 ordered Malaysia to pay US$14.92 billion. Bailiffs in Luxembourg served seizure orders on two Petronas units. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled in June 2023 that Stampa had no jurisdiction, and the Cour de cassation upheld that on 6 November 2024. A Madrid court found Stampa guilty of contempt in January 2024 and sentenced him to six months in prison and a one-year ban. Status in 2026: the US$14.92 billion merits award still has an annulment action before the Paris Court of Appeal^†; Luxembourg courts enforced both awards and the Dutch Supreme Court refused enforcement; no money has been reported paid.