The judge did not rule on the matter today.
In the case of Kings Capitals Holdings Company illegally introduced an investment scheme and collected sums of money from multiple people, the company's Managing Director Alhan Fahmy and his two siblings, petitioned all 13 charges against them to be dismissed.
In a Criminal Court hearing held on Tuesday, where all three defendants were allowed to present their pre-trial submissions, Alhan's lawyer, Ali Saeed, petitioned that the acts mentioned in the charges were carried out by the company. Citing the Companies Act, he argued that this removes personal liability because companies hold separate legal responsibilities and requested all charges be dismissed.
According to Article 75 of the Companies Act, even for criminal offenses, charges should be filed against the company, the lawyer said. He noted that this principle was applied in the MMPRC corruption case against Sun Company and in the FAM corruption case against Amin Construction.
Saeed said the same practice should apply in this case as well, since the actions mentioned in the charges are alleged to have been committed by the company. He also added that neither shareholders nor directors should be held personally responsible or accountable for these actions.
Azima Shakoor, who represented Alhan's siblings, Shahban Fahmy and Shazban Fahmy, said the "corporate veil" is established by laws and that individuals cannot be held personally responsible for a company's actions. She said this can only happen when the "corporate veil" is removed, which occurs when it can be proven that the company was used for fraud or deception.
However, the state prosecutor Hawwa Nahy said that these charges were not related to a crime committed by a company, but rather to a crime committed by those three individuals using the company's name. Therefore, Naahy argued that they should be held personally responsible. She also asserted that it was not necessary to hold a separate hearing to prove that the company was used to for fraud or deception just to removed the "corporate veil", and went onto say that sufficient evidence had been presented in the case to prove that they should be held personally responsible for the crime.
Based on this, the lawyer said that the judge's decision in the case would determine the extent of responsibility for the crime. She mentioned that previously, charges had been filed against individuals for actions carried out in the name of a company. One such case was the when charges were raised against Ahmed Moosa (Ammaty), the Managing Director the company, in the Sealife case, she said.
The judge did not make a decision today regarding King's Capital's submission.
However, both Alhan and his lawyer were fined by MVR 250 for being late to today's hearing. Alhan's brother Shahubaan objected to journalists participating online in the hearing. He said that journalists should also come to court and enter the hearing in person.
However, Judge Ismail Shafeeu said that since this case has garnered significant public attention, he wants to provide as much opportunity as possible for journalists, and declared that he would allow journalists to attend the hearing online. Although Shahubaan wanted to speak further about the judge's decision, the judge did not give him that opportunity.
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