Manulife case makes headway in HK
Manulife case makes headway in HK
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Hong Kong legal authorities convicted a company director for
falsifying documents that led to the disputed sale of a 40
percent share in insurance firm PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife
Indonesia (AJMI).
Maggie Ho Yik Lin pleaded guilty before a Hong Kong court last
month, on charges she falsified documents her client used to
purchase a 40 percent share in AJMI.
Maggie Ho was fined HK$42,000 by the Hong Kong Department of
Justice, according to a Hong Kong legal document, a copy of which
was made available to The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Last year, Canada's Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. sued
Asset Management Services Limited (AMS), which Maggie Ho led,
over suspicion the firm aided a fraudulent purchase of AJMI's 40
percent stake.
Manulife acquired the 40 percent stake in AJMI from Dharmala
Sakti, which was declared bankrupt last year.
The Jakarta Commercial Court ordered Dharmala sell the shares
to pay off debts it owed to creditors, one of which is the
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).
United Kingdom-based Roman Gold Assets Ltd. disputed the sale,
claiming it had purchased AJMI's stakes before Manulife did.
Roman Gold argued it acquired the shares from AJMI's co-
founder PT Dharmala Sakti through a string of transactions
involving West Samoan firm Harvest Hero International.
But Maggie Ho, in her affidavit, called Harvest Hero a "shelf
company", used as a vehicle for trading business.
She said an Indonesian lawyer, she identified as Lucas from
Lucas S.H. & Partners, instructed her to set up the company.
"He liked this company (Harvest Hero) because it was the
oldest on the second list AMS had prepared," she said.
AJMI said in a statement that AMS had made it look as if
Harvest Hero was founded in 1996, while in fact it had only been
established last year.
Earlier, a Canadian lawyer, Edward Southerland admitted he
backdated documents used to purchase AJMI's 40 percent shares.
"In July 2000, Mr Lucas came to my office and convinced me
that his client needed to have some backdated documents
prepared," Southerland said, in his affidavit before a Canadian
court. Lucas was not available for comment at his office.
The string of evidence that cumulated in Maggie Ho and
Southerland's confessions, was the result of an investigation
Manulife initiated.
In its probe, the company cooperated with the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the World Bank.
The IFC was embroiled in a similar legal bout when, what it
believed were fictitious creditors, overturned IFC's bankruptcy
petition against PT Panca Overseas. One of these creditors was
Hong Kong-based Harvest Hero.
In Jakarta, Manulife also logged criminal charges against
Roman Gold and Dharmala's former owner, but as yet, no progress
has been reported.