KUALA LUMPUR: A total of RM19mil in losses have been recorded in 22 criminal breach of trust (CBT) cases involving lawyers this year, says Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf (pic).
The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director said last year alone, a total of 31 CBT cases involving lawyers resulted in RM35.9mil in losses.
"We believe the cases will continue to rise this year
"We urge the Bar Council to take sterner action against rogue lawyers to prevent more victims from being duped," he told a press conference at the CCID headquarters on Friday (May 17).
Comm Ramli said CBT or embezzlement cases involving lawyers range from purchasing property to payments for legal proceedings.
"For example, if someone hires a lawyer to purchase a property, we proceed for a joint account that can be accessed by the client and the lawyer to prevent any untoward action.
"We also hope the Bar Council could be more proactive in taking action against lawyers who are under investigation for CBT," he said.
Comm Ramli said a 60-year-old company director lodged a report in Sungai Buloh on May 15, having lost RM3.2mil through CBT.
"He had hired a lawyer with the title of Datuk to file a civil suit against a financial institution in July 2023.
"He paid RM3.7mil in legal fees to the law firm.
"However, the victim has instructed his lawyer to withdraw the civil suit in February (this year) and asked for a refund of the legal fees.
"The lawyer told him that a service charge of RM521,498.60 would be imposed so that only RM3.2mil will be refunded," he said.
Comm Ramli said the victim agreed to the terms but has not received the refund until now.
"We are investigating under Section 409 of the Penal Code," he said.
In another case, a 53-year-old company director in Petaling Jaya lost about RM4.8mil over a property deal.
"He had signed an agreement to purchase a piece of land in Plentong, Johor, in June 2018, and proceeded to deposit RM4.8mil into a bank account belonging to a law firm hired by the seller.
"In the end, the deal did not go through, which also involved a court proceeding.
"During the proceeding in January (this year), the court discovered that the RM4.8mil had been spent by the law firm through 100 pieces of cheques and bank drafts," he said.
