KUALA
LUMPUR, May 22 – The National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) said today
it was suing Public Bank Berhad for loss of reputation as a result of an
alleged breach of its security that resulted in the private banking
information of NFC, its chairman and related companies being "exposed to
the world at large."
In a statement issued today, NFCorp alleged that Public Bank Berhad had
breached the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA).
"The security breach by Public Bank Berhad had allowed PKR Strategy Director
Rafizi Ramli to dramatise and sow the seeds of distortions and
misrepresentations to defame and damage the reputation and credibility
of NFCorp, its related companies and its chairman with the government
and general public as well as with the business and financial
communities," NFCorp said.
PKR accused NFCorp last week of “hunting down” alleged whistleblowers to
“put the lid on” claims the company, owned by Datuk Seri Shahrizat
Abdul Jalil’s family, abused a RM250 million federal loan.
The party held a press conference on May 14 with a former Public Bank
clerk, Johari Mohamad, who said he has been “pressured for months before
resigning” on May 2 after a domestic inquiry was held due to a
complaint by NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail.
The 41-year-old has also been summoned by Bank Negara investigators to
provide information under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act
(BAFIA), under which NFCorp has lodged complaints over bank details
exposed by PKR.
In its summons, NFCorp stated that private and confidential banking
information of NFCorp, its related companies and its chairman had been
exposed to the world at large.
The statement added that the lives of the directors and family of the plaintiffs had also been exposed to danger.
NFCorp lawyers said the move by their client to institute this legal
suit would hopefully serve as an alert to banks and financial
institutions of their duty and obligation to safeguard the confidential
information of their customers in all manner as well as to ensure their
customers’ safety from harms way.
NFCorp directors have denied PKR’s claim that they used the RM250
million in public funds meant for a national cattle-farming scheme to
leverage personal loans to buy eight office units worth RM12 million in a
new development.
Salleh has filed complaints to Bank Negara and police reports accusing
Rafizi of slander and breaching financial laws by distributing private
banking details of company directors, which include Shahrizat’s three
children, and other companies belonging to them.
NFCorp was tasked with running the controversial National Feedlot Centre
(NFC) that the government recently said it will tender out to another
company.
According to documents from one bank, which Rafizi said were provided by
a whistleblower, NFCorp directors made two deposits totalling
RM71,486,589 under the company’s name and another deposit totalling
RM1,872,254 under National Meat and Livestock Corporation.
Two other documents showed that her family members had obtained a credit
facility worth RM197,338 under Agroscience Industries, a RM4,391,240
loan for a property purchase and that Salleh was named as guarantor for
another loan of RM663,743.
NFCorp also said last month its lawyers will sue the bank which failed
to comply with BAFIA, on top of earlier libel suits already filed
against Rafizi and Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin.
The firm hit the headlines last year when the Auditor-General reported that it had missed production targets.
Shahrizat, who was a minister when the project was awarded to her family
in 2006, quit the Cabinet in early April after allegations she and her
family used a RM250 million soft loan meant for the cattle-rearing
project to finance land, property and other unrelated expenses.
On March 12, Salleh, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to
two counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM49.7 million with
regards to the purchase of two condominium units.
He also pleaded not guilty to two other charges under the Companies Act.
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