KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 14): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) charged a man in the Sessions Court on Monday (Feb 14) for allegedly engaging in unlicensed activities and deceiving nine investors of about RM1.45 million.

Mohd Azhidi Laili, who pleaded not guilty, is alleged to have represented to the nine victims that they were investing in a futures crude palm oil investment scheme under AmFutures Sdn Bhd, when in fact such a scheme did not exist in AmFutures.

The SC, in a statement, said it had obtained a warrant of arrest against Azhidi in July 2021, when its attempts to locate him since 2015 failed.

Azhidi was finally arrested two days ago and brought to court to face nine charges under subsection 206(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA).

If convicted, he could face an imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of not less than RM1 million.

In addition, Azhidi was also charged with holding out as a representative of AmFutures without a capital markets services representative's licence.

This is an offence under subsection 59(1) of the CMSA and is punishable with a jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to RM5 million, or both.

Azhidi also faces another charge under the subsection 134(5)(a) of the Securities Commission Malaysia Act 1993 for failing to comply with the SC’s notice to appear before the commission’s investigating officer on Feb 13, 2018.

For this charge, he faces a jail term of up to five years or a maximum fine of up to RM1 million if convicted.

Judge Kamarudin Kamsun granted bail at RM250,000 with two sureties.

In addition, Azhidi was ordered to surrender his passport to the court and is required to report to the SC’s investigating officer on a monthly basis until his trial is completed.

The SC, in its statement, reminded investors to exercise caution when considering investment opportunities through various anti-scam awareness campaigns.

“The SC’s investor alert list is constantly updated to guide the public to identify unauthorised/unlicensed platforms, companies or individuals,” the regulator said.