KUALA LUMPUR: A company and its director, a Singaporean, have been charged in the Sessions Court here on four charges of offering RM15mil worth of Islamic Redeemable Preference Shares (iRPS) to the public between August 2020 and August 2021.
The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), in a statement, said FGP Ventures Sdn Bhd and Khemlani Satesh, 62, were charged on Nov 28.
According to the SSM, the company and Khemlani claimed trial before Judge Aminah Ghazali for each of the two charges faced. The court set Jan 10, 2024 for the mention.
"The accused, between Aug 30, 2020, and Aug 29, 2021, at FGP Ventures Sdn Bhd, which is a private limited company, according to shares with a business address at Wisma UOA Damansara II, Changkat Semantan, Damansara Heights, here, had accumulated preference shares and offered to the public shares of the company, known as iRPS, which a private company is prohibited from doing so.
"As such, FGP Ventures Sdn Bhd and the director are each charged with two counts per Section 43 (1) and Section 90 (4) of the Companies Act 2016," according to the statement.
Section 43(1) of the Companies Act 2016 states that a private company is prohibited from offering company shares to the public and can be punished under Section 43(5) of the same act which carries a prison sentence not exceeding five years or a maximum fine of RM3mil or both, upon conviction.
Section 90(4) of the Companies Act 2016, meanwhile, states that it is an offence to accumulate company preference shares without having a company constitution and which can be punished under Section 90(5) of the same act, which provides for a fine of up to RM500,000.
Senior prosecuting officers Mohd Fairuz Othman and Mohd Iqbal Mohd Yusof handled the prosecution while the company and its director were represented by lawyers Muhammad Hasif Ghazali and Fithril Hakim Ab Jalil.
"After considering the appeals and arguments of both parties, the judge set bail at RM3,000 for each charge in one surety,” the statement added.
FGP Ventures and Khemlani posted bail on the same day.
The SSM explained that offering preference shares to the public by a private company (Sdn Bhd) is an offence under the Companies Act 2016.
"The SSM has taken the legal action as a form of reminder to the corporate community and the public that enforcement action will be taken if there is a violation of the laws regulated by the SSM.
"This is to ensure that corporate governance and compliance with company laws are always practised by corporate citizens and the business community in Malaysia," it said. - Bernama
