A witness revealed in court that FashionValet Sdn Bhd secured nearly RM40 million in investments from Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) eight years ago, as part of an ongoing trial.
Tay Lay Hong, a banking services manager at the Bukit Damansara branch of Public Bank, said the funds were deposited into a Public Bank account belonging to FashionValet through four separate transactions between March and December 2018.
The transactions included RM7,848,000 transferred by Khazanah on March 23, 2018, and RM11,742,000 on March 26, 2018, while PNB recorded transfers of RM11,953,500 on June 4, 2018, and RM8,364,996 on December 20, 2018.
Notably, Tay Lay Hong, 54, has been working with Public Bank since 1993, bringing extensive experience to her role as a banking services manager, which has likely aided her in tracking and understanding the complex transactions involved in the case.
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Investment and Withdrawals
Tay also confirmed that a sum of RM11 million was withdrawn from FashionValet’s bank account on August 21, 2018, via an online ‘bulk payment’ transaction, which required verification and approval from an authorised person.
However, Tay was not certain who the authorised person for online banking was, as the appointment is based on a directors’ resolution, typically the same individual as the authorised signatory.
A review of the bank statements of FashionValet founders Datin Vivy Sofinas Yusof and her husband, Datuk Fadzarudin Shah Anuar, revealed incoming transactions of RM5 million each from the company 30 Maple Sdn Bhd, with references “interim dividend” and “CIMB Rentas”, respectively.
Furthermore, it was discovered that a sum of RM5.5 million was withdrawn from each of the couple’s personal accounts at a Public Bank counter on September 5, 2018, which may indicate a pattern of financial transactions that warrant further investigation.
Charges and Trial
Vivy and Fadzarudin are charged with acting with common intention in their capacity as directors of FashionValet with criminal breach of trust involving investment funds from Khazanah and PNB, totalling RM8 million.
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They allegedly authorised payments from a FashionValet corporate bank account to 30 Maple without the approval of the FashionValet board of directors, an offence that carries a penalty of imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and up to 20 years, along with whipping and a potential fine.
The couple also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of dishonestly misappropriating property belonging to FashionValet, specifically the RM8 million in investment funds from Khazanah and PNB.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Public Bank branch in Bukit Damansara, located at 36-40 Medan Setia 2, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara, on August 21, 2018, under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read in conjunction with Section 34 of the same Code, and they are also charged under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for a term of not less than six months and up to five years, along with whipping and a mandatory fine, upon conviction.
The trial, presided over by judge Rosli Ahmad, will resume on November 3, with the prosecution continuing to present its case against Vivy and Fadzarudin, who are 38 and 37 years old, respectively.
