PUTRAJAYA, April 16 -- The Federal Court has reportedly ruled that a businessman who lost RM23 million in a botched land deal cannot recover the amount, concluding that he was to blame for the loss.

According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), the court dismissed 75-year-old Ong Koh Hou's counterclaim against Lim Swee Choo, 59, and Chiam Eng Huat, 77 - stating Ong was "the architect of his own loss" and had used the RM23 million in a separate deal that excluded the other two.

The dispute reportedly began in 2015 when Ong agreed to buy four plots of land in Rawang from Lim and Chiam for RM25.5 million, paying RM23 million upfront.

Lim and Chiam were said to have earlier bought the plots from DA Land Sdn Bhd, but the title transfers were not ...