Fadzaruddin, Vivy plead not guilty to embezzling RM8m of investments funds

by FARAH SOLHI

FASHIONVALET Sdn Bhd founders Datuk Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar and Datin Vivy Sofinas Yusoff face an additional charge today involving the alleged misappropriation of RM8 millions from Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) investment funds.

The couple – both former directors of the company – pleaded not guilty to the charge of acting with a common intention to dishonestly misuse the funds invested in the company. The charge is an offence under Section 403 of the Penal Code.

The alleged offence took place on August 21, 2018, at the Public Bank Bukit Damansara branch.

If convicted, they face imprisonment of six months to five years, whipping and a fine.

Their plea was recorded before Sessions Court Judge Rosli Ahmad.

Fadzaruddin and Vivy were previously charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving the same funds on Dec 5 last year. They were released on RM100,000 bail each while awaiting trial.

During today’s proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Haresh Prakash Somiah requested that the bail for the current charge be combined with the previous CBT charge, bringing the total bail amount to RM200,000.

Fadzaruddin and Vivy’s lawyer, Ashok Athimulan, did not object to the request. The court accepted the proposal and set March 10 for case management.

The judge also upheld additional bail conditions from the earlier case, requiring the accused to surrender their passports, report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office once a month, and refrain from contacting prosecution witnesses.

On Oct 29 last year, it was reported that Khazanah and PNB sold their collective stakes in FashionValet, the country’s first fashion e-commerce platform, for just RM3.1 million. The two companies had previously invested RM47 million in the platform, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Following this, Fadzaruddin and Vivy announced on Nov 5 of the same year that they had relinquished their positions in the company, taking responsibility for its failure.

They also apologised for the controversy surrounding FashionValet, as well as its impact on Khazanah and PNB.