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.