Sean Yeow

Practice Areas

Banking & Financial Services Litigation

Insolvency

Civil & Commercial Disputes

Publications

Contributor — The Malaysian Civil Procedure 2015 & 2014 (Sweet & Maxwell)

Personal

Sean has a diverse and active dispute resolution practice in general civil and commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on banking and financial services litigation and corporate insolvency.

He focuses on banking and insolvency litigation, often acting for financial institutions, receivers and managers, judicial managers, and liquidators. He also acts extensively on civil and corporate matters, including contractual, tortious and trust disputes.

He has seen more than his fair share of heavily contentious matters litigated at all tiers of the Malaysian legal system. He is regularly ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific and other legal research directories as a notable practitioner.

Sean is ranked as a “Distinguished Practitioner” in asialaw 2024 in both Dispute Resolution and Restructuring & Insolvency practices. He has also been recognised as a ranked lawyer for Dispute Resolution by the Chambers Asia-Pacific 2025 for the past 16 years. He was also a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 rankings.

Work Highlights

Acted for a financial institution to defend a negligence claim by a co-operative society who had been deceived by a fraudster into making a substantial payment to the financial institution. The Federal Court agreed the financial institution did not owe a duty of care to the co-operative society who was not a customer.

Acted for various financial institutions to defend claims by customers for alleged misrepresentations and negligence in the sale of various investment products.

Acted for and advised judicial managers appointed by a financial institution on a highly contentious judicial management that is being challenged by directors, shareholders and certain creditors seeking to ultimately invalidate a statement of proposal that has been approved.

Acted for beneficiaries of a high value estate on competing claims to certain shares and assets said to be held on trust and to defend claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, breach of trust, etc. against the deceased and the assets of the estate.

Represented a financial institution in a substantial debt guaranteed by a company listed on Bursa Malaysia which was disputed on the grounds of forgery, fraud, conspiracy, breaches of statutory and listing rules.

Defended a real estate investment trust listed on Bursa Malaysia against claims by the previous owner, its shareholders and other bidders seeking to invalidate the trust’s purchase of a property comprising a mall, office block and hotel at a public auction.

Assisted a financial institution in recovering a substantial amount from another financial institution on the grounds that client’s security covered the monies pledged to the other financial institution and had priority.

Represented a “white knight” to acquire and rehabilitate an abandoned housing and commercial development via a scheme of arrangement that was heavily contentious and litigated all the way to the Federal Court.

Represented a liquidator to recover substantial properties that had been disposed of by a shareholder in contravention of various statutory prohibitions, including the prohibition against the giving of financial assistance in dealing in the company’s shares.

Defended a general insurance company against claims on performance bonds and advance payment bonds fraudulently issued by a former branch manager without authority.

Represented various financial institutions to defend claims by customers and third parties for breach of contract, negligence and defamation arising from lending and operational matters.