After PKR announced that it was fielding its deputy information chief Ramanan Ramakrishnan to contest in Sungai Buloh, it is not surprising that his previous alleged fraud case resurfaced.
According to him, this was a civil case that arose due to “misunderstandings” years ago, and it was related to his personal business. Therefore, Ramanan (above) urged his political opponents not to make a big deal out of it.
Ramanan’s office contacted Malaysiakini yesterday and an interview was conducted at his election coordination room for him to explain the matter.
Ramanan said the alleged fraud case originated from business misunderstandings and the police listed the case as “no further action” (NFA) after investigations. He subsequently dealt with the remaining civil case in court.
“Actually this is a case that happened in 2014, I don’t know why it is brought up again now. We need to understand that this is a civil case, not a criminal case.
“I would like to stress that this is my personal issue, it was a business matter involving two individuals,” he told Malaysiakini.
The former MIC treasurer claimed that his political opponents are slandering him ahead of the election.
“For me, I don’t want to talk about the (settlement) agreement, you know why? Because I (am) afraid that it will be further twisted, I don’t want to complicate this matter.
“I think this is a straightforward matter. It’s just that BN is kaki fitnah (slanderer), I know their level of slander.”
Ramanan claimed that he has done many business deals in the past, and such “business misunderstandings” were common in the business world.
“But let me tell you the number of court cases (filed) because of misunderstandings in business ventures …. You can’t take proper count of it. That’s why today a lot of lawyers are very wealthy.
“(This was) business misunderstanding. You can do a search on the most prominent man in this country, I am sure you will see how many cases have been filed against them or their companies for issues like this,” he stated.
‘I was not charged’
When pressed on his fraud allegations, Ramanan retorted: “If it is a fraud, wouldn’t the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) charge me back then? But I was not charged,” Ramanan stressed.
PKR Youth member Asheeq Ali, who was present during the interview, is representing Ramanan on legal matters. The lawyer-politician stressed that his client was not charged with any criminal offences.
The police investigated the case and classified it as “no further action.
“I think I won’t be sitting here if he was charged for any offence,” he added.
Asheeq said Ramanan reached an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff and they could not comment on the details due to confidentiality issues.
Ramanan was then MIC treasurer-general. His grandmother, Devaki Krishnan was a founding member of the party.
Psychiatrist Mahadevan Mahalingam sued Ramanan for allegedly fraudulently misrepresenting him on May 19, 2010, leading the former to transfer RM5.5 million into the defendant’s personal account.
According to a report published in January 2014, the Defence Ministry owed Mahadevan a debt of RM26.6 million for using the land belonging to him as a firing range from 1968 to 1988.
Ramanan had allegedly shown a letter from the Defence Ministry to the then 81-year-old man, and said he could retrieve the debt from the ministry.
This led to Mahadevan paying Ramanan RM5.5 million for the services, only to find out later that the letter was forged.
Money returned
On Jan 23, 2014, Kuala Lumpur High Court agreed to Mahadevan’s application and ordered Ramanan to return the RM5.5 million to the psychiatrist.
According to a court document dated June 6, 2014, both plaintiff and the defendant agreed to reach a settlement. However, the agreement and amount of compensation are confidential, with conditions on both parties not to raise the case in any way.
Four days after the High Court ruling, Ramanan stepped down from his MIC treasurer-general position.
Today, Ramanan said that his resignation proved that he was a principled person.
Ramanan explained that he could have appealed the High Court’s decision, but he chose to compensate the plaintiff as he was getting married.
“I was preparing to get married, therefore I wanted to settle the case because the compensation money is not as important as my family’s happiness.
“(I don’t want) the case to be dragged … When we Indians get married, normally we will discuss the past of the male and female, (therefore) when we are starting a new family, we want to start with a clean slate,” he added.
‘Media being unfair’
Ramanan blamed the media and public opinion for targeting his “baggage”, but not using the same criteria to examine BN’s Sungai Buloh candidate Khairy Jamaluddin and his previous scandals.
He urged the media and voters to look into Khairy’s involvement in several corruption allegations, including the purchase of shares from ECM Libra Avenue.
Ramanan said he will address these issues in the coming ceramah.
“Several media focused on my baggage as a candidate, but I want to ask the media, why don’t they ask about Khairy’s past?
“If we are going to write a book on Khairy’s baggage, I think I will be very old by the time I finish writing.
“But maybe the media and voters forget things easily.”
Ramanan then took potshots at Khairy, saying just because the latter thought he was famous on social media, Khairy thinks he could do as he pleases.
“Maybe this social media boy can do as he likes, as long as he is famous on social media.
“But if his candidacy comes under scrutiny, perhaps BN may not have any qualified candidates left,” Ramanan quipped. - Mkini
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