FGV's suit against ex-chairman, former CEO to be heard before another judge

KUALA LUMPUR: The trial of FGV Holdings Berhad's suit against its former chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and former group president and chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah, which is scheduled to resume in the High Court, here, on Feb 21, will be heard before another judge.

The suit was filed by FGV Holdings to claim compensation amounting to RM7.69 million over the purchase of a luxury condominium in Troika, Persiaran KLCC, that was said to be above the market price.

Lawyer Lavinia Kumaraendran, representing Mohd Isa as the first defendant, said the trial would be heard before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin, replacing Judicial Commissioner Quay Chew Soon who had been transferred to the Penang High Court.

"During the first case management proceedings conducted via Zoom today before Mohd Arief Emran, the trial was set to resume on Feb 21 and 23 and March 28 and 29," she said when contacted by Bernama today.

Lavinia said the plaintiff would be calling 32 more witnesses to testify, but the court ordered to reconsider the classification of the documents so that the number of witnesses could be reduced.

Thirteen plaintiff witnesses have testified in the trial which began in early 2020.

On Nov 30, 2018, FGV Holdings in a statement to Bursa Malaysia said its lawsuit pertained to a luxury condominium at Troika, KLCC which it claimed was bought at an inflated price by the duo, and misuse of company cars and petrol benefits by Mohd Emir.

In this regard, FGV is claiming RM4.54 million from the two defendants on the purchase of the condominium, and another RM3.15 million from Mohd Emir.

FGV is also claiming interest of five per cent per annum on the amount, effective from the lawsuit date until full settlement.

-- BERNAMA