Malaysian Merchant Marine

PUTRAJAYA — Former Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd (MMM) executive deputy chairman Datuk Ramesh Rajaratnam today failed in his bid to obtain leave to review a Court of Appeal decision that reinstated his insider trading conviction and directed the High Court to rehear his appeal.

A three-member Court of Appeal panel comprising Justices Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz unanimously dismissed the application.

Following the ruling, Ramesh’s appeal against his conviction and sentence will proceed for hearing on its merits at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Aug 20.

Ramesh, 61, was convicted by the Sessions Court in 2019 of insider trading involving the disposal of 5 million MMM shares on Jan 11, 2010, while in possession of material inside information.

The information related to a proposed downgrade by Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad of MMM’s RM120 million Al-Bai’ Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities from A-ID to BB+ID. 

Ramesh was sentenced by the Sessions Court to five years’ imprisonment and fined RM3 million, with a further three years’ jail in default of payment.

In delivering the decision today, Justice Ruzima said Ramesh had failed to satisfy the threshold for leave to review the earlier appellate ruling, adding that there was no breach of natural justice in that decision.

He added that the question of whether the High Court must decide an appeal on its merits or allow it without such consideration had been fully argued by the parties before the earlier Court of Appeal panel, which had addressed the matter in detail.

“We observe, however, that the applicant (Ramesh) was not without an alternative remedy,” said Ruzima, adding that Ramesh can challenge the Sessions Court’s decision in the High Court.

Ramesh was initially convicted by the Sessions Court on three counts of insider trading and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a RM3 million fine, with a further three years’ jail in default for each charge. The prison terms were ordered to run concurrently.  

In 2021, he succeeded in his appeal to the High Court, which overturned the conviction.

The High Court judge had earlier ruled that the Sessions Court’s grounds of judgment were essentially a reproduction of the prosecution’s submissions and that the trial judge had failed to conduct any meaningful scrutiny of the evidence presented.

The Securities Commission (SC) subsequently appealed and, in December 2023, proceeded only with the appeal on the first charge, withdrawing its appeal on the second and third charges.

The latter two charges concerned the disposal of 5,200,800 MMM shares in February 2010, allegedly while Ramesh was in possession of material inside information regarding the company’s classification as a PN17 company.

In May 2024, the Court of Appeal allowed the SC’s appeal, holding that the High Court, as an appellate court, cannot dispose of an appeal solely on the basis of errors or omissions by the Sessions Court without considering the merits of the case.

The Court of Appeal set aside Ramesh’s acquittal and remitted the matter to the High Court for a full hearing on his conviction and sentence.

A stay of the prison term and fine was granted pending the outcome, with bail conditions maintained as previously imposed, namely, RM200,000 bail with one surety and surrender of his passport to the court.

In today’s proceedings, Ramesh was represented by Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, Abraham Au Tian Hui and Miguel Jude Sequerah, while the SC was represented by deputy public prosecutors Hashley Tajudin, Low Wen Zhen and Daniel Ariff Tung. — BERNAMA 

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PUTRAJAYA — Former Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd (MMM) executive deputy chairman Datuk Ramesh Rajaratnam today failed in his bid to obtain leave to review a Court of Appeal decision that reinstated his insider trading conviction and directed the High Court to rehear his appeal.

A three-member Court of Appeal panel comprising Justices Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz unanimously dismissed the application.

Following the ruling, Ramesh’s appeal against his conviction and sentence will proceed for hearing on its merits at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Aug 20.

Ramesh, 61, was convicted by the Sessions Court in 2019 of insider trading involving the disposal of 5 million MMM shares on Jan 11, 2010, while in possession of material inside information.

The information related to a proposed downgrade by Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad of MMM’s RM120 million Al-Bai’ Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities from A-ID to BB+ID. 

Ramesh was sentenced by the Sessions Court to five years’ imprisonment and fined RM3 million, with a further three years’ jail in default of payment.

In delivering the decision today, Justice Ruzima said Ramesh had failed to satisfy the threshold for leave to review the earlier appellate ruling, adding that there was no breach of natural justice in that decision.

He added that the question of whether the High Court must decide an appeal on its merits or allow it without such consideration had been fully argued by the parties before the earlier Court of Appeal panel, which had addressed the matter in detail.

“We observe, however, that the applicant (Ramesh) was not without an alternative remedy,” said Ruzima, adding that Ramesh can challenge the Sessions Court’s decision in the High Court.

Ramesh was initially convicted by the Sessions Court on three counts of insider trading and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and a RM3 million fine, with a further three years’ jail in default for each charge. The prison terms were ordered to run concurrently.  

In 2021, he succeeded in his appeal to the High Court, which overturned the conviction.

The High Court judge had earlier ruled that the Sessions Court’s grounds of judgment were essentially a reproduction of the prosecution’s submissions and that the trial judge had failed to conduct any meaningful scrutiny of the evidence presented.

The Securities Commission (SC) subsequently appealed and, in December 2023, proceeded only with the appeal on the first charge, withdrawing its appeal on the second and third charges.

The latter two charges concerned the disposal of 5,200,800 MMM shares in February 2010, allegedly while Ramesh was in possession of material inside information regarding the company’s classification as a PN17 company.

In May 2024, the Court of Appeal allowed the SC’s appeal, holding that the High Court, as an appellate court, cannot dispose of an appeal solely on the basis of errors or omissions by the Sessions Court without considering the merits of the case.

The Court of Appeal set aside Ramesh’s acquittal and remitted the matter to the High Court for a full hearing on his conviction and sentence.

A stay of the prison term and fine was granted pending the outcome, with bail conditions maintained as previously imposed, namely, RM200,000 bail with one surety and surrender of his passport to the court.

In today’s proceedings, Ramesh was represented by Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar, Abraham Au Tian Hui and Miguel Jude Sequerah, while the SC was represented by deputy public prosecutors Hashley Tajudin, Low Wen Zhen and Daniel Ariff Tung. — BERNAMA 

The post Ex-MMM executive deputy chairman fails in bid to review insider trading conviction ruling appeared first on The Malaysian Reserve.