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Shell MGO bunker heist: Ex-Process Technician received minimum SGD 735,000 in benefits, faces 43 charges

Muhamad Farhan Bin Mohamed Rashid was allegedly involved in charges related to criminal breach of trust, money laundering, and drug offences, according to court documents seen by Manifold Times.

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A former Shell Eastern Petroleum employee pleaded guilty to a Judge at the State Courts of the Republic of Singapore on Tuesday (29 March) over charges relating to the misappropriation of marine gas oil (MGO).

Muhamad Farhan Bin Mohamed Rashid faced a total of 43 charges over alleged criminal breach of trust (27 charges), money laundering (13 charges), and drug offences (3 charges), according to court documents seen by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.

Farhan was hired around 2010 to facilitate the transfer of petroleum products at the Shell Pulau Bukom manufacturing site where his role was to either be a process technician or control panel operator.

During 2014, he was recruited into the criminal syndicate by co-conspirators Juandi bin Pungot and Muzaffar Ali Khan bin Muhamad Akram to participate in the illegal loading operation of MGO to receiving vessels.

Farhan’s primary role during the incidents of misappropriation was to open and close the bypass valve to facilitate the transfer of misappropriated MGO to bypass the custody transfer meters which would otherwise capture the movement of oil.

He was also responsible for starting the manual operation of pumps from the oil panel inside the Movement Control Room.

Further, he was occasionally tasked to switch off the radars which tracked the volume of oil within the tanks to prevent the data from being reflected in the control panel system.

In total, Farhan assisted the criminal syndicate to misappropriate a total USD 44 million (exact: USD 44,018,727.06), or approximately SGD 60 million (exact: SGD 59,668,526.27), worth of MGO between 2014 and 2016.

He received criminal benefits of at least SGD 735,000 (exact: SGD 735,331.43) through his participation in the offence; investigations recorded Farhan laundering SGD 269,511.43 of his benefits where:

  • A sum of SGD 44,750 was spent on investing in a unit at Funtasy Island Resort, Capraia Residences, located at Batam, Indonesia between 8 September to 24 October 2014.
  • A sum of SGD 119,511.43 was used to purchase a Honda Vezel between 5 to 19 August 2016.
  • Sums of SGD 20,000 and SGD 40,000 were respectively spent on start-up capital for a Halal-Japanese restaurant called Hararu Izakaya Restaurant on February and March 2017.
  • A sum of SGD 45,250 was used to pay the 5% booking fee in exchange for an option to purchase a property at Grandeur Park Residences in Singapore on 15 March 2017. However, the purchase of the property did not take place due to drug offences.

Farhan is scheduled to appear at the State Courts of the Republic of Singapore for mitigation and sentencing on 26 May.

Note: Court proceedings against other allegedly involved parties, including former employees of Shell Pulau Bukom, are ongoing. A list of earlier developments recorded by Manifold Times are as follows:

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RelatedShell MGO bunker heist: Three ex-Shell employees charged with bribing surveyors
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RelatedShell MGO bunker heist: Director of Singapore bunkering firm released from police custody
RelatedShell MGO bunker heist: Oil tanker ‘Prime South’ forfeited by State Courts of Singapore
RelatedShell MGO bunker heist: Director of Singapore bunkering firm face charge at State Courts
RelatedShell Singapore oil heist: Third offender pleads guilty for gas oil theft
RelatedCaptain of “Prime South” jailed in Shell Pulau Bukom gas oil theft
RelatedShell Singapore oil heist: Ex-Chief Officer of Prime South jailed
RelatedSingapore: Shell MGO bunker heist amount balloons to USD$142 million
RelatedShell MGO bunker heist update: Fresh charges issued at Singapore court
RelatedShell Singapore oil heist: More charges issued at court
RelatedShell Singapore oil heist: Breakdown of stolen oil cargoes
RelatedIntertek Singapore employee among Shell oil heist suspects

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 31 March, 2022

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Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

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RESIZED Sora Shimazaki on Pexels

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July). 

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions. 

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Related: Singapore: Hin Leong Founder OK Lim gets jail term slashed to 13.5 years

 

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

  • That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

  • that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
  • that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
  • that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Related: Singapore: Director declares Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping’s inability to continue business
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

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PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. 

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post. 

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024. 

 

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026

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