IPOH: Three siblings claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to 19 counts of accepting deposits totalling RM5.6mil without having a valid licence.
The three brothers, M. Vijendran, 41, Danial Marnokaran Abdullah,36, and M.Thaewendran, 32 pleaded not guilty to the charges, some read jointly, and some individually before judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad on Tuesday (Feb 20).
According to the charge sheets, the three former directors of a company dealing with cryptocurrency, on separate occasions between Nov, 2016, and Dec 2020 had allegedly received the deposits amounting to RM5.6mil in total from several individuals.
They were charged under Section 137 (1) of the Financial Services Act 2013, which is punishable under Section 137(2) of the same legislation.
Offenders can be jailed up to 10 years, fined not exceeding RM50mil or both upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Haiqal Asyraf Suhaimi requested that the court impose a RM100,000 bail for each accused.
However, counsel for all the three accused C.V. Krishnadevan asked for a lower amount.
He said his clients had filed for a judicial review at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb 19 concerning the case, stating that the charges were improper, and to drop all the charges, with the case management fixed for April 1.
"My clients have been cooperating with the police. One of them has been declared bankrupt, one has no fixed income, while the business of one has been severely affected.
Ainul Shahrin Mohamad then set bail at RM20,000 for each accused.
She fixed April 18 for mention.
