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PETALING JAYA: Tycoon Vincent Tan moved today to downplay his role at Malaysian firm SEA Gamer Mall (SEAGM), whose two executives face charges for a global hacking operation.
The Berjaya Group founder said that he had been a “passive investor” in the digital games store for the past 13 years, but clarified that neither he nor his two daughters played any role in the day-to-day operations of the company.
“My daughters, namely Nerine Tan and Chryseis Tan, were non-executive directors of SEAGM,” she said in a statement today.
“At all times, my daughters were not involved at all in the running of the company. They were just my nominees on the SEAGM board.
“Both Nerine and Chryseis have already resigned prior to this incident,” he added.
Tan said a business partner introduced him to SEAGM in 2007 and decided to invest in the company through a private entity after recognizing the potential of the company.
When stating that the Berjaya Group “has no interest” in SEAGM, Tan highlighted that his participation in the company was made in a personal capacity.
“As a passive investor, all day-to-day decisions about running the company and the business were left entirely to SEAGM’s key executives, whom I considered a dynamic and experienced management team.”
It also stated that neither the SEAGM nor the two detained executives possessed the expertise or the tools to commit the crimes charged against them.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) officially indicted Wong Ong Hua, 46, and Ling Yang Ching, 32, of SEAGM, with 23 counts on Wednesday, including identity theft, money laundering, extortion, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and false domain name registration.
The company’s website claims that Wong is the founder and CEO of SEA Gamer Mall, which is based in Sitiawan, Perak. Ling is listed as a partner and product manager.
The United States seeks to extradite the duo, who according to the Justice Department conspired with several hackers, including two from China, to profit from criminal hacking by video game companies in the United States, France, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
Bukit Aman, in a statement yesterday, said the United States’ extradition request was submitted on September 3.
“The Attorney General’s Office has accepted the request,” said Bukit Aman’s criminal investigation division director Huzir Mohamed.
