RETRACTION AND UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY TO DATUK VINOD SEKHAR, THE PETRA GROUP, AND GR TECHNOLOGIES SDN BHD

DagangNews.com refers to an article published on our portal on 29 November 2021 entitled “Pejabat Petra Group yang diketuai Vinod Sekhar diserbu pelbagai agensi penguatkuasa” (“the Article”).

Following correspondence between DagangNews.com and the solicitors for Datuk Vinod Sekhar, Chairman and Group Chief Executive of the Petra Group, and with a view to resolving the matter amicably, DagangNews.com hereby unconditionally and unreservedly retracts the Article and apologises to Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group of Companies and GR Technologies Sdn Bhd for the publication thereof and for the distress, embarrassment and reputational harm caused by the publication.

Retraction

In particular, DagangNews.com retracts the following statements, allegations and insinuations contained in the Article:

1. The Alleged “Raid”, Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Investigation

We retract the headline and statements in the Article asserting that the Petra Group’s headquarters in Bangsar had been subjected to a law enforcement “raid”.

We further retract any allegation, assertion or insinuation in the Article linking Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group, GR Technologies Sdn Bhd or their officers to what was described as one of the “biggest money laundering and tax evasion cases since the 1MDB scandal”.

2. The Hungarian Ventilator Contracts

We retract the allegations and insinuations contained in the Article suggesting corrupt, improper, non-transparent or non-competitive conduct on the part of Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group or GR Technologies Sdn Bhd in connection with the ventilator contracts involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary.

We acknowledge that Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group and GR Technologies Sdn Bhd have strongly disputed these allegations and have maintained that neither Datuk Vinod Sekhar nor the relevant companies or officers were under investigation for money laundering or tax evasion in connection with the matters referred to in the Article.

We further acknowledge their position that, in relation to the Hungarian ventilator contracts, Datuk Vinod Sekhar and GR Technologies Sdn Bhd acted as introducers and facilitators in assisting with the procurement and delivery of ventilators, and that the ventilator models ultimately supplied were selected and approved by the Hungarian Government and were not selected by Datuk Vinod Sekhar or GR Technologies Sdn Bhd.

We have now been informed that neither Datuk Vinod Sekhar nor GR Technologies had made any profit from the ventilator contracts and were merely cooperating as goodwill signatories, whose signatures themselves were demanded by the Hungarian Government.

The actual transaction for ventilators itself was between the Hungarian Government and the ventilator supplier.

Reliance on the MalaysiaNow Report

For completeness, DagangNews.com wishes to place on record that the writer responsible for the Article relied substantially upon a news report previously published by another Malaysian news portal, MalaysiaNow.

The writer concerned subsequently left DagangNews.com in 2025 and is no longer associated with our organisation.

DagangNews.com acknowledges that the allegations contained in the Article ought to have been independently verified with Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group, GR Technologies Sdn Bhd and/or the relevant authorities before publication.

We regret that this was not done and sincerely apologise for the consequences of the publication.

Our Unconditional Apology

DagangNews.com wishes to make clear that we have no personal agenda, animosity or ill intention towards Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group or GR Technologies Sdn Bhd.

We sincerely, unconditionally and unreservedly apologise to Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group and GR Technologies Sdn Bhd for the publication of the Article and for the distress, embarrassment and reputational harm caused thereby.

We have removed the Article and associated links under our control from our website and social media platforms and have undertaken not to republish, repeat or disseminate the statements and allegations retracted above, or any substantially similar statements concerning Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Petra Group or GR Technologies Sdn Bhd.

DagangNews.com remains committed to responsible journalism and to maintaining appropriate standards of accuracy, fairness and verification in its reporting.

 

JOHARDY IBRAHIM
Managing Editor,
DagangNews.com