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.