KHAZANAH Nasional Berhad transferred RM19.59 million to an account belonging to fashion e-commerce company FashionValet Sdn Bhd in two transactions in March 2018, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court heard today.
CIMB Bank Berhad KL Sentral Tower branch manager Lee Hui Nee, 58, testified that a review of Khazanah’s bank statements showed an initial transfer of RM7.848 million on 23 March 2018, followed by a second transfer of RM11.742 million three days later.
“The total amount transferred across both transactions came to RM19,590,000,” Lee said.
“Payment for both of these transactions was carried out via interbank fund transfer from Khazanah's CIMB account to a Public Bank account belonging to Fashion Valet Sdn Bhd.”
Lee, the fourth prosecution witness, gave evidence while reading her witness statement on the fourth day of the trial involving FashionValet founders Datin Vivy Sofinas Yusof and Datuk Fadzarudin Shah Anuar.
The couple face charges of criminal breach of trust involving RM8 million in investment funds from Khazanah and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).
Lee said the transfers were carried out in accordance with standard banking procedures after the bank received instruction letters signed by authorised Khazanah signatories and completed telephone verification with designated Khazanah officers.
She also confirmed that an examination of Khazanah’s account statements covering the period from 31 January 2017 to 31 December 2019 found no other transfers to FashionValet accounts apart from the two transactions in March 2018.
Earlier, Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) Assistant Registrar R Harshini, 36, testified that corporate registry records showed Vivy Sofinas and Fadzarudin remained directors of FashionValet without any changes in their directorship status or resignations between 2012 and 2024.
Harshini said records showed Vivy Sofinas was appointed a director of FashionValet on 29 September 2010, while Fadzarudin was appointed on 13 December 2012.
She also said both were appointed directors of 30 Maple Sdn Bhd on 9 December 2013, and remained in those positions until 2024.
However, the witness confirmed that other directors had resigned or undergone changes in their positions during the period under review.
Among them were Datin Aishah Mohd Jelani, who resigned on 29 September 2010, and Wong Thean Soon, who resigned on 12 April 2018.
Harshini also said Chong Yit Phin and Intan Safina Yusof resigned on 15 March and 27 March 2019, respectively, while Arshad A Ahmed resigned on 27 July 2023.
Benjamin Low Ewe Ee and Nurul Iman Mohd Zaman subsequently resigned on 9 January 2024.
Vivy, 38, and Fadzarudin, 37, are jointly charged, as directors of FashionValet, with committing criminal breach of trust involving investment funds from Khazanah and PNB.
They are accused of making a payment of RM8 million from FashionValet’s bank account to 30 Maple Sdn Bhd without the approval of FashionValet’s board of directors.
The alleged offence took place at Public Bank Berhad’s Bukit Damansara branch on 21 August 2018.
The charge was brought under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34, which provides for imprisonment of between two and 20 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
The couple also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of dishonestly misusing property belonging to FashionValet, involving RM8 million in investment funds from Khazanah and PNB.
The alternative charge, under Section 403 of the Penal Code, carries a sentence of between six months and five years’ imprisonment, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
The trial before Judge Rosli Ahmad resumes on 16 October. - August 18, 2026