Isa Samad, eight others ordered to file defence over FGV suit

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court yesterday ordered former FGV Holdings Berhad chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and eight others to file their statements of defence in the suit brought by the company to recover a RM 514million loss over its acquisition of London-listed Asia Plantation Ltd (APL) in 2014.

Lawyer Lavinia Kumaraendran, representing Mohd Isa, told reporters that High Court deputy registrar Farah Shuhada Ramli ordered all the defendants to file the statements by Jan 31, 2019, during case management in chambers.

“The next case management has been set for Feb 12, 2019, before High Court Judge Datuk Azimah Omar,” Lavinia said.

The others, besides Mohd Isa, who have to file the statements of defence are FGV Holdings former president and CEO Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah; former senior general manager (downstream cluster) Rasydan Alias Mohamed; former chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha and five former FGV non-executive directors, namely Tan Sri Ismee Ismail; Tan Sri Wan Aziz Wan Abdullah; Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob; Datuk Nozirah Bahari and Datuk Fazlur Rahman Ebrahim.

Lavinia also said that the nine defendants received a copy of the statement of claim on Dec 19 while five other defendants have yet to receive theirs.

They are former vice-president (business development of downstream cluster) Farisan Mokhtar and four former FGV non-executive directors, namely Datuk Omar Salim; Datuk Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid; Datuk Yahaya Abd Jabar and Datuk Faizoull Ahmad.

FGV Holdings initiated the legal action in November against the 14 people for the loss suffered from their failure to discharge their respective fiduciary duty, duty of fidelity and/or duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence.

According to the company’s statement to Bursa Malaysia, the suit is over the company’s acquisition of 100 per cent equity interest in APL via a voluntary conditional cash offer in 2014.

FGV is seeking, among other things, relief from the defendants for damages totalling RM514 million for loss from the acquisition of APL and, alternatively, damages for loss from the acquisition of APL to be assessed by the court. - Bernama