KUALA LUMPUR: Two former board directors of Koperasi Pelaburan Hartanah Berhad were fined RM110,000 and RM50,000 respectively by the Sessions Court here yesterday after they pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed cooperative and running a get rich quick scheme.
Judge Datuk Rozana Ali Yusoff handed down the sentences on Datuk Nabil Abdul Kadir, 62, and Saiful Bakhri Abdullah, 30, who both paid the fines.
On the first count, they were fined RM60,000 or 12 months prison and RM30,000 or nine months prison respectively, for receiving a RM500,000 loan from a potential member of the cooperative at Setiawangsa Business Suites, Jalan Setiawangsa 11, Taman Setiawangsa between March 28 and June 9 2008, before the cooperative was registered.
They were charged under Section 10A (1) of the Cooperative Act 1993 (502 Act) which provided for a fine of up to RM5 million or imprisonment of not more than five years or both, upon conviction.
As for the second count, under Section 45(1) of the same Act they were each fined RM10,000 or five and three months imprisonment in default for taking deposits for a get rich quick scheme called Units@Neocyber by promising 16 per cent p.a dividends even though the cooperative was unable to generate such returns at the time.
The third count involved accepting investments for ‘Gold Members’ and promising dividends of up to 15 per cent p.a, for which Nabil and Saiful were each fined RM10,000 or five and three months imprisonment in default.
Nabil, was further fined RM30,000 or six months jail in default for not declaring his interest in Syarikat CFIS Sdn Bhd, the company appointed to raise funds for the scheme.
Prosecution was conducted by DPP Hanim Abdul Rahman and Cooperative Commission of Malaysia prosecuting officer Kamarulzaman Mohamad Buhari.
Nabil and Saiful were represented by Adenan Ismail. — Bernama