The Berjaya Group founder said he had been a “passive investor” in the digital gaming store for the past 13 years but clarified that neither he nor his two daughters played any role in the company’s day-to-day operations.
“My daughters, namely Nerine Tan and Chryseis Tan, were non-executive directors of SEAGM,” he said in a statement today.
“At all times, my daughters had no involvement whatsoever in the running of the company. They were just my nominees on SEAGM’s board.
“Both Nerine and Chryseis have in fact already resigned before this incident,” he added.
Tan said he was introduced to SEAGM in 2007 by a business associate and decided to invest in the company through a private entity after recognising the company’s potential.
Stating that the Berjaya Group has “no interest whatsoever” in SEAGM, Tan stressed that his shareholding in the company was made in his personal capacity.
“As a passive investor, all day-to-day decisions in running the company and the business were left entirely in the hands of the key executives of SEAGM whom I considered to be an experienced and dynamic management team.”
He also stated that neither SEAGM nor the two executives detained possessed the expertise or tools to commit the crimes they have been accused of.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) officially charged SEAGM’s Wong Ong Hua, 46, and Ling Yang Ching, 32, with 23 charges on Wednesday, including identity theft, money laundering, racketeering, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and falsely registering domain names.
The company’s website states that Wong is the founder and CEO of SEA Gamer Mall, which is based in Sitiawan, Perak. Ling is listed as a partner and chief product officer.
The US is seeking to extradite the duo, which the DoJ says conspired with various hackers, including two from China, to profit from criminal computer intrusions of video game companies in the US, France, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
Bukit Aman, in a statement yesterday, said the extradition request by the US was sent on Sept 3.
“The Attorney-General’s Chambers has agreed to the application,” said Bukit Aman criminal investigation division director Huzir Mohamed.
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