Lawyer denies wrongdoing in Manulife share transaction

Lawyer denies wrongdoing in Manulife share transaction

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A lawyer denied on Wednesday a report of his involvement in
the alleged fraudulent share transaction of PT Asuransi Jiwa
Manulife Indonesia (AJMI), as he responded to new evidence in the
Manulife case.

Lucas' legal representative Marselina Simatupang of Lucas,
S.H. & Partners, called a report in The Jakarta Post's
Dec 4. edition misleading, as it suggested Lucas was behind the
alleged scam.

Last month, a Hong Kong court indicted Maggie Ho Yik Lin for
falsifying documents used in the sale of a 40 percent stake in
AJMI to U.K.-based Roman Gold Asset Ltd.

According to Hong Kong legal documents made available to The
Post, Maggie Ho pleaded guilty. She said Lucas had contacted her
last year to set up the firm Harvest Hero International Ltd.

Roman Gold argued it purchased the 40 percent stake in AJMI
through a series of transactions from Harvest Hero.

The disputed shares are owned by AJMI's Canadian parent
company, Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Manulife).

The Post also quoted a Canadian lawyer, Edward Southerland as
saying in his affidavit that Lucas told him to backdate documents
used for the transaction.

"Our client never instructed a person named Maggie Ho Yik Lin
to set up a company called Harvest Hero. Our client also never
instructed a Canadian lawyer of the name Edward Southerland to
backdate documents," Marselina said in the statement.

She said Maggie Ho never mentioned Lucas' name in her
confession before the Hong Kong court and claimed Southerland's
affidavit never existed.

She warned Lucas might consider legal action against the news
sources and the parties involved in publishing the story.

Last August, Lucas made a similar warning after the Post
published an article suggesting Lucas' involvement in the
Manulife case.