Banking, Fraud & Civil Procedure

An online banking system required both a recipient’s name and account number, but it never checked whether the two matched. When the money went to the wrong account, the High Court held that the bank could not rely on automation to escape its duty of care.

Seventeen buyers paid for land that was never the seller’s to sell. A Sessions Court ordered Datuk Red, his company, and another defendant to pay RM1.57 million, finding that fraud and deceit had been proven.

When K Anuradha, a widow with two children, borrowed RM44,000, she was charged 7 percent monthly interest and made to sign a sale‑and‑purchase agreement for her house. The Court of Appeal has now affirmed that the agreement was a sham to mask an illegal moneylending transaction, and ordered the house returned.

A German company was deceived into transferring RM600,000 to fraudsters using fake emails and intercepted courier documents. The Malaysian High Court responded with landmark orders against “Persons Unknown” — including a self‑identification order.

A bank customer lost RM166,000 from an account she had held for over twenty years. The Sessions Court held the bank liable for failing to monitor her accounts.