IT seems that Wednesday’s (April 13) compound meted out by the Securities Commission (SC) against Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, its CEO, director and two company officers for submitting false financial statement to Bursa Malaysia is one in the slew of legal entanglements currently encountered by the global integrated oil & gas (O&G) outfit.
On the same day, Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd had filed contempt proceedings against the company and its directors in relation to its failure to reveal the fact-finding update (FFU) of its special independent review (SIR) done by Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd (EY Consulting), according to theedgemarkets.com.
Bursa Securities filed an ex-parte application to seek leave (permission) from the court to proceed with committal proceedings owing to Serba Dinamik’s failure to comply with a Feb 7 High Court order made by Judicial Commissioner Wan Muhammad Amin Wan Yahya that required the O&G company to reveal the FFU within two market days from the date of the order.
“The defendant had, in defiance of the order, failed, neglected and/or refused to comply with the terms of the order and is therefore interfering with, or obstructing, the due administration of justice,” the market regulator said in a statement which accompanied the application.
The documents filed by Bursa Securities’ solicitors Messrs Chooi & Company + Cheang & Ariff were sighted by theedgemarkets.com from a file search done via the e-court system where the application was filed before Wan Muhammad Amin’s court.
Below are two other recent legal entanglements as disclosed by theedgemarkets.com:
Failing to get a stay of the High Court decision on Monday (April 11): In its application, Bursa Securities named Serba Dinamik along with its directors Datuk Dr Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah (also the group managing director/CEO), Datuk Awang Daud Awang Putera, Datuk Abdul Kadier Sahib, Datuk Syed Nazim Syed Faisal and Noor Azri Noor Azerai as contemnors.
If found in contempt, the firm could be staring at a fine while the directors themselves could be fined or jailed for their failure to take “all necessary steps as a director” to ensure the group complied with the order.
“The bourse operator noted that Serba Dinamik and its directors clearly had knowledge of the terms of the order based on the group’s Feb 8 bourse filing of the High Court’s order and terms of the said order,” highlighted theedgemarkets.com.
Bursa Securities said it did not pursue committal proceedings prior to this out of deference to the High Court and Court of Appeal (CoA) as Serba Dinamik had filed a stay application on the order at the High Court and a subsequent appeal at the CoA after the application at the High Court was dismissed.
“In view of the train of events and Bursa Malaysia’s deference to the High Court and CoA in administering justice and due process, Bursa Malaysia held its hands in making an immediate application for committal proceedings.
“Bursa Malaysia commenced these committal proceedings as soon as the CoA dismissed (Serba Dinamik’s bid for a stay) on April 11,” theedgemarkets.com cited Bursa Securities as saying.
Recall that Bursa Securities filed an originating summons on Nov 25 last year to compel Serba Dinamik to disclose the FFU of the SIR dated Sept 30, 2021 conducted by EY Consulting.
The High Court on Feb 7 this year decided in favour of Bursa Securities and granted the order to compel the release of the FFU but both parties are to appear before the CoA after Serba Dinamik filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision.
No date has yet been fixed at the CoA to hear Serba Dinamik’s appeal to set aside the Feb 7 High Court order. However, a case management on Tuesday (April 12) at the appellate court has fixed the matter for further case management on May 11.
Legal proceedings with EY Consulting: On Nov 5 last year, Serba Dinamik initiated a lawsuit against EY Consulting which it appointed on July 2 last year to undertake its SIR to restrain the latter from sharing any findings or opinions on the FFU.
The group’s originating summons and injunction application was dismissed by the High Court on March 8. However, Serba Dinamik is also appealing this High Court decision at the CoA, and the matter has been fixed for case management on May 9.
Serba Dinamik’s separate legal action for an injunction to bar Bursa Malaysia from forcing the company to reveal the FFU was also dismissed by the High Court.
To re-cap, the SC had on Wednesday (April 13) s imposed maximum compound of RM3 mil on Serba Dinamik, Abdul Karim; executive director Datuk Syed Nazim Syed Faisal who was chief financial officer (CFO) from June 2016 until mid-2020; current CFO Azhan Azmi and vice president of accounts and finance Muhammad Hafiz Othman.
Muhammad Hafiz was slapped with another RM1 mil compound for falsifying the accounting records of Serba Dinamik’s subsidiary, Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd.
Serba Dinamik was last transacted at 35 sen at the close of the mid-day trading on Oct 22 last year prior to the trading suspension of its shares/warrants, hence giving the company a market capitalisation of RM1.3 bil. – April 15, 2022
