Malaysian prosecutors charged the founders of a local online fashion retailer over the alleged misuse of funds invested in their company by two government-linked firms.
Local influencers Vivy Yusof and her husband, Fadzarudin Shah Anuar, the co-founders of FashionValet, were jointly charged with criminal breach of trust on Thursday. They pleaded not guilty.
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court set bail at 100,000 ringgit ($22,566) for each of them. If found guilty, the couple could face two to 20 years imprisonment, whipping and a fine.
Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. and state-owned asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd. had lost a combined 43.9 million ringgit after pouring 47 million ringgit into FashionValet six years ago. Prosecutors said that 8 million ringgit was paid from FashionValet’s account to a firm known as 30 Maple Sdn without the approval of its board of directors in 2018.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission completed its investigation within four weeks as the loss-making investments sparked public outcry. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered Khazanah to carry out an internal audit. Malaysians had also criticised Vivy for flaunting her luxury handbags — including Hermès’s pricey Birkin models — to her more than 1.8 million followers on Instagram even as FashionValet was losing money.
The state funds had invested in FashionValet in 2018 and sold their minority stakes at the end of 2023. In separate statements on Nov. 1, both Khazanah and PNB said that the pandemic had severely impacted the online retailer’s business, subsequently leading to them to sell their shares at a loss.
Both Vivy — who was chief executive officer of FashionValet — and her husband resigned from their positions in the company on Nov. 1 and apologised to their investors over the losses.
The couple had shut FashionValet’s e-commerce platform in 2022, before pivoting to focus on their in-house modest fashion brands.
By Kok Leong Chan and Ram Anand
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