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Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department director Ramli Yoosuf said the first case involved a 63-year-old company director who appointed a law firm that failed to return RM3.2 million in legal fees.
The victim filed a report against the lawyer, who holds the “Datuk” title, on Wednesday.
The victim had appointed the law firm last July to initiate a civil suit against a bank for raising loan interest rates on his company. He agreed to pay the firm RM3.7 million in legal costs.
“However, in February this year, the complainant instructed his lawyer to retract the suit as the issue was settled amicably between the bank and the company,” Ramli told a press conference today.
“The law firm charged him RM500,000 for its services and agreed to return the remaining RM3.2 million to him, but until now, he has yet to get back the refund.”
In the second case, Ramli said a 53-year-old company director lost RM4.8 million to a law firm after the funds, which were deposited for a land purchase in Plentong, Johor, in June 2018, allegedly disappeared from the firm’s trust fund.
The land deal fell through and turned into a court proceeding, with the Kuala Lumpur High Court determining in January this year that the funds had disappeared from the firm’s account.
The court found that all the money had been withdrawn by the firm through the issuance of 100 cheques and bank drafts, he said.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.
Ramli reiterated his suggestion to the Bar Council that trust accounts of law firms be joint accounts, under both the client and the firm, to prevent such incidents from recurring.
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