Court of Appeal sets aside fraud, conspiracy findings in RM52.2m Johor land dispute
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — The Court of Appeal has set aside findings of fraud and conspiracy against a businessman an...
The Court of Appeal in Malaysia has overturned fraud and conspiracy convictions against businessman J. Siva Kumar and property agent R Thevandran K. Ragavan in a land dispute over a 22.06ha agricultural tract in Johor. The high court had previously found Siva, Ragavan and lawyer G Shoba guilty of fraud, conspiracy and wrongfully lodging a private caveat over the land.
However, the three-judge panel upheld the high court's decision that no binding sale agreement had been concluded between the parties. The court also affirmed that Siva had wrongfully lodged the private caveat. The appeal court dismissed Ragavan's claim for RM1.2 million in agency fees but upheld his liability for breach of fiduciary duty, ordering him to pay RM100,000 in aggravated damages and return the RM1.2 million earnest deposit.
The case stemmed from negotiations between Firwas Sdn Bhd and Siva in 2017 and 2018, during which Ragavan introduced Siva as a prospective buyer. The negotiations ultimately fell through, and Firwas later sold the land to another party for RM58 million.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
