KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd has filed for an appeal against the High Court's decision in dismissing the company's lawsuit against Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd (EY Consulting) for misrepresentation, as well as its application to restrain the latter from sharing any findings or opinions from its special independent review on Serba Dinamik with Bursa Malaysia or other parties.

"The appeals have been fixed for case amangement on May 9, 2022," it wrote in a bourse filing Tuesday (April 5), adding it will make further announcements when there are material developments on the matter.

The appeals were filed after the beleaguered oil and gas group's originating summons and injunction application were dismissed on March 8 by the High Court here.

Through the lawsuit initiated last November, Serba Dinamik had sought a declaration that EY Consulting was not a qualified auditor, and that it had misrepresented to Serba Dinamik that it could be appointed to undertake the special review, an appointment that Serba Dinamik sought to be declared as void from the beginning.

But High Court judge Justice Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, in arriving at in his decision in March, said EY Consulting did not misrepresent itself to Serba Dinamik in its letter of engagement, as the firm did not in any manner claim to be an auditor.

Instead, he noted that EY Consulting had taken steps to ensure the team performing the review included a qualified auditor, namely Muhammad Shahrizal Abd Rahim, a partner in E&Y PLT. The judge also stated that an auditor must be a real person and the firm (E&Y PLT) merely houses the auditor. 

“As such, what is crucial is for Syarizal to be authorised by the Finance Minister, and registered with the AOB (Audit Oversight Board). As provided for under the terms of the letter of engagement, EY Consulting is entitled to contract with E&Y PLT to obtain the services of Syarizal,” he reportedly said.

Hence, the judge found that the appointment of EY Consulting was rightly done in accordance with the Main Market Listing Requirements (MMLR), and that there was no room for Serba Dinamik to argue that EY Consulting was not qualified to be a special auditor.