Datuk Tan Bee Geok alleges RHB Bank breached joint account mandate by allowing RM1.3 million withdrawal without her consent; bank blames inadvertent error, seeks indemnity from her husband
A RM15 million lawsuit against RHB Bank Berhad could set a legal precedent in Malaysia, potentially redefining how strictly banks must adhere to joint account mandates. The Kuala Lumpur High Court is set to determine the extent of a bank’s duty in ensuring compliance with such agreements.
The suit was filed by Supermax Corporation Berhad co-founder Datuk Tan Bee Geok, after she discovered that RM1.325 million had been withdrawn in September 2024 from a joint account she held with her husband, Datuk Seri Thai Kim Sim, without her consent.
According to the statement of claim dated March 25, the mandate for the account stipulated that both account holders’ signatures were required before any withdrawal could be made.
“In fact, there were periods where the (bank) officers also had to remind and follow up with the plaintiff or Thai to provide their signatures, ensuring both the signatures were provided before proceeding with any transaction,” court documents stated.
Tan lodged a police report and filed a complaint with RHB. She claims the bank informed her the transaction was approved due to an “inadvertent error” and that the debited sum had since been re-credited to the account.
Although Tan acknowledges that the funds were eventually restored, she argues that this does not negate the original breach and negligent conduct by RHB Bank, which she claims resulted in further financial loss.
RHB, in its defence, denied any negligence or breach of duty of care, stating that verification protocols were followed before the transaction was approved.
The bank also argued that neither Tan nor Thai had provided written instructions requiring a verification call if only one account holder initiated a transaction.
RHB further contended that Thai submitted a redemption statement signed by both him and Tan, and informed the bank that Tan was aware of the transaction, which was to cover a housing loan payment and avoid late charges.
In a third-party notice dated April 30, RHB filed a claim against Thai—who is also executive chairman of Supermax Corp Bhd—seeking indemnity should Tan succeed in her lawsuit.
“You have a duty to provide true, correct, authentic and/or accurate documents, information, representations and/or instructions, either orally or in writing, to the defendants for the payment to be made from the RHB Joint Account,” the notice reads.
In addition to RHB Bank, Tan has named three of its officers as defendants.
Tan is represented by Messrs S Ravenesan, while the defendants have Messrs Gan Partnerships as their lawyers.
She is seeking RM15 million in compensation and a court declaration that the defendants are liable for negligence, or alternatively, breached their contractual obligations in relation to the allegedly unauthorised transfer.
According to the court’s e-Filing system, the matter is scheduled for case management via e-review on 24 June.
This article originally appeared on Scoop.my and was written by Scoop journalist, Arjun Mohanakrishnan.