GL files criminal case against JTA and 3 people

Group Lease Plc (GL) has filed a criminal case against J Trust Asia Pte Ltd (JTA) and three individuals on the grounds of jointly submitting a business rehabilitation petition under the pretence that GL’s financial condition requires such a plan.

On April 11 GL filed a case against JTA; JTA director Nobuyoshi Fujisawa; JTA director Shigeyoshi Asano; and an unnamed legal adviser for JTA for submitting a business rehabilitation petition against GL.

“The criminal case was submitted to the Central Bankruptcy Court on grounds that these four [perpetrators] jointly submitted a petition for business rehabilitation against [GL], which was false in essence and falsely claimed the company falls under the requirements for business rehabilitation,” said GL in its statement.

“This caused the company to incur damage to its reputation and lose credibility among investors, which negatively affected the value of [GL] shares.”

The court accepted GL’s complaint and scheduled the trial date for June 25.

In March, a business rehabilitation plan for GL filed by JTA was dismissed by the Central Bankruptcy Court on grounds that GL is not insolvent and has never defaulted on its debt repayment.

In a statement, GL said Kasikornbank, a major creditor of GL, also objected to the business rehabilitation plan as the company does not need one. GL added there is a conflict of interest between JTA and GL.

“The fact that JTA submitted a case to the Civil Court on Jan 9 and submitted a petition for business rehabilitation to the Central Bankruptcy Court on Jan 10, only one day apart, without waiting for the Civil Court’s decision, is unreasonable rushing of the process,” said the statement.

Earlier, JTA initiated legal proceedings against Group Lease Holdings Pte Ltd (GLH), GL’s wholly owned subsidiary registered in Singapore, and other companies, based on the allegation that GLH and other defendants had defrauded JTA to invest in GL for US$180 million (5.68 billion baht).

GL is a digital finance company specialising in hire-purchase for Japanese motorcycle brands.

On Oct 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint against former chief executive Mitsuji Konoshita, alleging fraud, misappropriation of company assets and falsification of accounting records by executing concealed transactions through several associated companies abroad to exaggerate the company’s operating results.

GL shares closed yesterday on the SET at 7.10 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 7.69 million baht.