KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): Suria Capital Holdings Bhd (KL:SURIA), the owner and operator of eight ports in Sabah, said on Tuesday that one of its directors has been charged with giving or offering a bribe to influence someone's actions in their job, under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

The company clarified that the charge is not related to its business operations or finances.

Suria Capital did not name the director in its filing with Bursa Malaysia. However, multiple media outlets reported that the individual involved is Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob, the Sindumin state assemblyman, who is also a non-independent, non-executive director at Suria Capital.

"After assessing this event, the board is of the opinion that this alleged offence is unrelated to the company and therefore does not have any material financial impact on the company," the company said. 

Suria Capital halted trading in its shares at 4.02pm following the announcement. It will resume trading on July 2.

If convicted under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, Yusof could face a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.  

According to media reports, Yusof was accused of receiving RM200,000 in cash from Datuk Albert Tei at the Hilton Hotel in Kota Kinabalu on March 6, 2023, around 2pm. The payment was allegedly in exchange for facilitating the approval of a mineral prospecting licence for Syarikat Nusa Kini Sdn Bhd.

Also charged in the case were Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy, the Tanjung Batu assemblyman and Sabah Assistant Minister for Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship, for allegedly receiving RM150,000; and Tei, for allegedly offering bribes to both lawmakers.

All three individuals were brought before the Special Corruption Court in Kota Kinabalu. Judge Jason Juga has fixed Aug 5 for pretrial case management.

Each of the two politicians was granted bail of RM50,000 (with RM10,000 deposited) under one local surety. Meanwhile, Tei was released on RM60,000 bail (with RM15,000 deposited). The court also ordered all accused to report to the nearest MACC office every two months, and surrender their passports to the court.

Tei had previously been named in media reports as the businessman behind a series of videos implicating political figures in graft allegations, some of which were published by Malaysiakini and later submitted to the MACC.

Suria Capital’s shares last traded four sen or 2.38% lower at RM1.64, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM580.98 million. Year-to-date, the stock has declined more than 10%.