Last year, fashion designer Datuk Jovian Mandagie was ordered by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur to pay RM10 million to two companies after failing to repay two “friendly loans” of RM5 million each. Prior to this, the business owner had announced that his brand, along with its parent company, Jovian Mandagie Group Sdn Bhd, would cease operations after 17 years.
The public figure filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision, but there had been no updates on the case until very recently. It has now been reported that the once-successful entrepreneur has been declared bankrupt. Here’s the story:
For context, it was revealed last year that Datuk Jovian had verbally requested RM5 million in loans from two companies, Cekap Air and Bina Pragmatik, in February and March 2022, respectively. The plaintiffs reportedly suffered losses due to the designer’s negligence and delays in repayment, despite issuing a notice of demand in 2023.
Once the matter was brought to court, Justice Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin ordered Jovian to repay the “friendly loans” within an undisclosed timeline. On Thursday (3rd July 2025), the fashion designer was officially declared bankrupt by the High Court, following his failure to settle a loan totalling RM5.28 million from a construction company.
According to reports, the bankruptcy order was granted after Cekap Air Sdn Bhd filed a creditor’s petition over the unpaid loan given in 2022. “Jovian did file several applications to stay and strike out the bankruptcy notice and petition filed against him, but they were dismissed by the court,” said the company’s lawyer, Siti Nur Athirazatti Rohizad. As for Bina Pragmatik, there has been no update on the company’s case against Jovian.
At the time of writing, Datuk Jovian Mandagie has yet to issue a statement regarding the news of his bankruptcy. However, his appeal against the High Court’s decision is scheduled to be heard at the Court of Appeal on 15th September later this year.
Sources: TheStar, Bernama, FMT
