Court orders disciplinary proceedings against ex-1MDB auditor to proceed

The Court of Appeal ruled that a challenge on a decision which is not a final determination of a disciplinary proceeding is premature.

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has unanimously reinstated disciplinary proceedings against a former 1MDB auditor, overruling a High Court decision that held the action was tantamount to double jeopardy.

Justice Azizah Nawawi, who chaired a three-member panel, said the disciplinary committee of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) must hear a complaint alleging negligence by Deloitte’s Ng Yee Hong in auditing 1MDB’s 2014 financial statements.

“A challenge on an interlocutory decision, which is not the final determination of the disciplinary proceeding, is a premature challenge,” Azizah said.

She said due process, including appeals to an internal appellate board, must be exhausted before a court challenge can be mounted.

Also on the panel were Justices See Mee Chun and Zaini Mazlan.

The court ordered Ng to pay costs of RM20,000 to MIA and the disciplinary committee.

In 2015, two separate complaints were lodged against Ng by Andrew Anand Solomon and former Damansara MP Tony Pua.

Solomon questioned the sufficiency of Deloitte’s inquiries into an alleged US$2.3 billion investment by 1MDB in a Cayman Island fund. He accused Deloitte and Ng of failing in their duty to detect fraud.

Meanwhile, Pua’s complaint involved an allegation of negligence on Ng’s part in failing to uncover several “highly dubious and fraudulent transactions in 1MDB”.

In 2020, Ng was found guilty by the disciplinary committee of misconduct in respect of Solomon’s complaint. He was suspended for two years and fined RM5,000.

His appeal to the High Court from the decision was dismissed the following year.

Ng challenged Pua’s complaint on grounds that it was identical to Solomon’s, and said that he should not be subjected to further sanction over the matter.

However, the disciplinary committee insisted on proceeding with Pua’s complaint, saying it “concerned different subject areas”.

Ng then commenced a judicial review in the High Court challenging the disciplinary committee’s decision to proceed with the complaint.

In 2022, the High Court quashed the second disciplinary proceeding, giving rise to the present appeal.