The Court of Appeal upheld a High Court order freezing RM169.2 million worth of assets belonging to Datuk Ricky Wong Shee Kai, his mother Teh Sew Wan, and Wong SK Holdings Sdn Bhd on August 10, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The asset freeze stems from a Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) civil suit accusing them of market misconduct and securities fraud related to Bright Packaging Industry Bhd (BPI) [1, 2, 3].

The freeze prevents the appellants from dealing with or disposing of the assets while court proceedings continue [1, 2, 3]. The SC alleges that Ricky Wong and others orchestrated a fraudulent scheme diverting approximately RM56 million from BPI funds raised between 2013 and 2015 [1, 2]. More than RM3.5 million of the diverted money was used to purchase a high-end property at Four Seasons Place [2].

A three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Federal Court judge Datuk Ravinthran N. Paramaguru, sitting with judges Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing and Datuk Leonard David Shim, dismissed the appellants’ appeal to set aside the asset freeze [1, 2, 3]. Judge Datuk Leonard David Shim said, "An appellate court will not interfere with the discretion exercised by a lower court unless it is clearly satisfied that the discretion has been exercised on a wrong principle and should have been exercised in a contrary way or that there has been a miscarriage of justice" [1].

Judge Shim added, "It is our unanimous decision that Order 29 Rules of Court 2012 and the common law principles of Mareva injunction do not apply to an application for a statutory injunction under Section 360 of the CMSA. We therefore find that there was a prima facie case that the appellants have jointly and severally contravened Section 179 of the CMSA and made unlawful pecuniary gains of at least RM56 million from the fraud" [2].

The Court of Appeal also dismissed the appellants’ bid to set aside an ex parte injunction granted by the High Court in May 2020, which initially froze the assets [1, 3]. The appellants were ordered to pay RM200,000 in costs to the SC [1, 3].

Ricky Wong remains at large and is wanted in connection with criminal charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 and the Capital Markets and Services Act (CMSA) [3]. The SC has urged the public to provide information about his whereabouts [3].

The High Court trial over the securities fraud allegations is set to resume on September 1, 2026 [3].