The Appellants were first charged at the Sessions Court on 5 July 2017 with two charges respectively under section 58(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) read together with section 367(1) of the same Act.

The charges are related to Jalatama Management Sdn Bhd’s (Jalatama) conduct in carrying on a business of trading in futures contracts and dealing in derivatives without a Capital Markets Services Licence.

The Appellants, who were both officers of Jalatama at the material time, were deemed to have committed the offences between July 2011 and September 2013.

Following a full trial, both were found guilty and convicted by the Sessions Court on 12 December 2022. They were sentenced to one-year imprisonment and a fine of RM1 million (with a further one-year imprisonment term in default), respectively. The Appellants then filed appeals to the High Court.

In affirming the convictions and sentences imposed by the Sessions Court, the High Court found that there were no errors in law or fact committed by the Sessions Court Judge and that the convictions of the Appellants were safe. Further, the High Court agreed with the SC’s submission that the sentences imposed against the Appellants were not manifestly excessive to warrant appellate interference.

The decision of the High Court on the Appellants’ appeals was preceded by a dismissal of the Appellants’ application for a stay of proceedings which was filed by the Appellants prior to the hearing of the appeal today.

Following the decision, the High Court granted a stay of execution of the sentences pending the Appellants’ final appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The SC was represented by SC Deputy Public Prosecutor Annarina Chacko Jacob and prosecuting officers Mohd Shafiq Azman, Mark Rohan Mahadevan and Danial Imran bin Nasaruddin.

The SC views today’s court judgment positively. Dealing in derivatives is a regulated activity and any person carrying on a business in regulated activities requires a license from the SC under the CMSA.