KUALA LUMPUR: Businessman Tan Sri Halim Saad has been ordered to pay RM62 million to Amanah International Finance Sdn Bhd (AIF) for breach of a financing agreement entered in 2015.
High Court judge Mohd Radzi Harun also ruled that Halim must pay for Ta'widh, or compensation for late payment, and costs to AIF.
He also found that Hektar Premier Sdn Bhd (HP), a company controlled by Halim, is also liable to pay and discharge the amounts due from Halim to AIF, due to an Assignment of Surplus Sale Proceeds agreement entered between HP and AIF on Jan 26, 2017.
AIF filed a suit against Halim in 2018 claiming a sum of RM62,031,201.48 being outstanding due and owing to AIF as at August 31, 2018 for breach of the facility agreement signed in June 2015.
The short term financing agreement for a RM80 million loan, was to purchase shares in shariah-compliant companies listed on the local stock exchange.
The loan was to mature in December 2015.
The facility agreement went through four variations and extensions of maturity date, the last one signed in October 2017, with a maturity date on Oct 2, 2017.
Mohd Radzi also dismissed Halim's counterclaims against AIF and Abu Talib Abdul Rahman, which sought to declare a share purchase agreement (SPA) dated Dec 30, 2015 entered between AIF and Halim's nominee Abu Talib, to finance the purchase of 20 million shares in Efogen Sdn Bhd, as void.
Halim wanted the RM20.25 million used to pay for the shares to be refunded to him.
He said he and Abu Talib were approached by AIF's then chief executive officer (CEO), Datuk Razali Rahim to purchase the shares in Efogen.
Halim said he and Abu Talib had agreed to use monies from the financing facility granted by AIF to purchase the shares because Razali said that Efogen's shares were worth between RM80-100 million and that it was ready for a listing on the stock exchange.
Halim believed that if the Efogen shares were able to be listed with the expected value as represented by AIF's former CEO, he would in turn have been able to raise funds and serviced the financing facility.
In his judgement, Mohd Radzi deemed the initial facility agreement and all its variations valid and legal.
He also judged that the SPA between AIF and Abu Talib was legal.
In delivering his judgement dated May6, Mohd Radzi said while the transaction was legal and valid, it was arguably tainted with questionable ethics on the part of the relevant AIF officials.
He is hopeful that the top management of AIF will take positive measures to improve it.
AIF is a member of Malaysia Industrial Development Finance (MIDF).