Consultant charged with deceiving investors of RM1.45mil

KUALA LUMPUR: A general consultant with the title 'Datuk Seri' was charged in the Sessions Court here on Monday (Feb 14) on 11 charges, including deceiving nine investors in connection with crude palm oil investment involving losses amounting to RM1.45mil.

Mohd Azhidi Laili, 47, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to him before Judge Kamarudin Kamsun.

According to the first to ninth charges, the accused, who had control of the futures trading accounts registered at AmFutures Sdn Bhd, was charged with deceiving nine men to the extent of causing the victims to deposit RM1.45mil into Client Segregated Accounts held by AmFutures for the purpose of investing in crude palm oil futures when such investments did not exist.

The offences were allegedly committed at Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad, Exchange Square, Bukit Kewangan here between May 2013 and March 2014.

The charges were framed under Subsection 206(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (Act 671) and were punishable under Section 209 of the same act, which carried a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of not less than RM1mil, upon conviction.

For the 10th charge, he was accused of presenting himself as a representative of AmFutures Sdn Bhd to carry out business without a Capital Markets Services Representative’s Licence or was not a registered person to carry out such investment activities.

He was accused of committing the offence at Level 16, Bangunan AmBank Group, Jalan Raja Chulan here between May 2013 and January 2014 according to Subsection 59(1) of the same act, which carried a maximum fine of RM5mil or imprisonment for a maximum of five years or both upon conviction.

The father of four was also accused of failing to appear before a specified Investigating Officer of the Securities Commission Malaysia to be examined orally as required under Subsection 134(1)(b) of the Securities Commission Malaysia Act 1993.

He was accused of committing the offence at the Securities Commission, Persiaran Bukit Kiara, Bukit Kiara here on Feb 13, 2018 according to Subsection 134(5)(a) of the Securities Commission Act, which provided for a maximum fine of RM1mil or imprisonment for a maximum of five years or both upon conviction.

Securities Commission deputy public prosecutor Shoba Venu Gobal did not offer bail after taking into account the fact that the accused could flee as the police had previously failed to track him down since 2015.

"Following that, an arrest warrant was issued against the accused. However, if bail is offered at the discretion of the court, we seek bail of RM500,000 with the additional condition that his passport be submitted to the court and he reports to the Securities Commission's investigating officer once a month," she said.

Lawyer Alsabri Ahmad Kabri, representing Mohd Azhidi, applied for bail as his client suffered from diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol, besides having to support his wife and four children.

"My client will not flee because his family and business are here in Malaysia. If the court allows bail, I seek a lower amount of RM100,000," he said.

Kamarudin allowed the accused bail of RM25,000 with two sureties for all charges, with the additional condition that his passport was handed over to the court and he had to report to the Securities Commission's investigating officer on a monthly basis as well as not harass witnesses until the case is completed.

The court set March 30 for re-mention of the case. - Bernama