KUALA LUMPUR – The founders of e-commerce platform FashionValet Datin Vivy Sofinas Yusof and her husband Datuk Fadzarudin Shah Anuar are reportedly set to face another charge of criminal breach of trust involving investment funds from Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said the case would be investigated under Section 403 of the Penal Code.
“The prosecution will file an alternative charge under Section 403 of the Penal Code.
“Today, only one charge is being read out,” he said during the prosecution proceedings at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.
Earlier, Vivy, 37, and Fadzarudin, 36, pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal breach of trust, involving the transfer of RM8 million from FashionValet’s bank account to 30 Maple Sdn Bhd without board approval in August 2018.
The case has been scheduled for mention again on January 22 next year.
Both accused were granted bail of RM100,000 each.
The couple is represented by defence lawyer Ashok Athimulan.
Previously, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) uncovered several suspicious transactions during its investigation into investment losses in the e-commerce company.
The investigation followed the Finance Ministry’s revelation that Khazanah and PNB only recovered RM3.1 million from selling their shares in the FashionValet e-commerce platform to a Bumiputera company, NXBT Partners, in 2023.
This recovery was significantly lower than the RM47 million investment made by Khazanah and PNB in 2018 – comprising RM27 million and RM20 million, respectively – for minority stakes in FashionValet.
Following this, the couple’s residence in Mont Kiara was raided, and MACC seized several items, including 11 designer handbags and a luxury watch with an estimated total value of around RM200,000.
MACC also froze several personal and company bank accounts belonging to the couple, valued at approximately RM1.1 million. – December 5, 2024