Fashion Designer Jovian Mandagie Declared Bankrupt

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) --  Fashion designer Datuk Jovian Mandagie was today declared a bankrupt by the High Court after failing to repay a friendly loan of RM5.28 million, including interest, to engineering construction company Cekap Air Sdn Bhd (Cekap Air).

Senior Assistant Registrar Muhammad Faisal Zulkifli issued the order after allowing the creditors' petition filed on November 20, 2024.

 Lawyer Siti Nur Athirazati Rohizad, representing Cekap Air, when met by reporters after the proceedings, said her client had filed a bankruptcy notice on May 21, 2024, after Jovian failed to comply with a direct judgment given by the court on April 2 of the same year.

"After obtaining leave to issue a bankruptcy notice against Jovian, we filed the creditors' petition. In today's proceedings, the court issued a bankruptcy order against Jovian.

"Jovian had filed various applications to stay and strike out the notice and bankruptcy petition filed against him, but all have been dismissed by the court," said the lawyer.

Based on the creditors' bankruptcy petition, Cekap Air applied for a bankruptcy order against Jovian for failing to pay RM5,284,340.66 million, including interest, as ordered by the High Court.

On April 2, last year, Judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin ordered Jovian to pay the friendship loan after allowing Cekap Air's application to enter a direct judgment against the fashion designer.

Jovian appealed, and it will be heard at the Court of Appeal, Putrajaya on 15 Sept.

The direct judgment was obtained when the court decided the case through written submissions without a full trial.

Jovian was sued by Cekap Air on May 16, 2023,  for allegedly failing to repay  RM5 million, which was loaned to him based on his friendship with the company's director, Yong Zhen Wei.

Cekap Air claimed that it had lent Jovian RM5 million at his verbal request on February 25, 2022, by transferring the money to the client account of the law firm representing the fashion designer and that it had to be repaid within a period not exceeding 12 months.

The company claimed that the loan was given and made verbally and casually based on friendship, and there was no reason to doubt Jovian because he owned several other businesses.

However, Cekap Air claimed that Jovian had breached the loan agreement and had so far failed to repay or return the money, causing the company to suffer losses.

In today's proceedings, Jovian was represented by lawyer Nur Irdina Syahirah Mohammad Wardi.

Jovian filed a statement of defence on June 20, 2023.

-- BERNAMA