Singapore: Charges against Founder of Zenrock abated following his death

Singapore’s court proceedings over multiple charges against the founder of Singapore-based oil trading firm Zenrock Commodities have come to an end following his death, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday (15 January). 

The charges against Xie Chun, who was accused of several offences including cheating, were abated after a pre-trial conference on 9 January.

An Attorney-General’s Chambers spokesperson told The Straits Times that the criminal charges against were abated following an application of the defence after Xie Chun passed away on 3 January. 

No details of his death were revealed by the spokesperson.

In 2020, HSBC accused Zenrock of dishonestly obtaining multiple sources of financing for crude cargoes. 

HSBC filed a court application on 4 May to place Zenrock under judicial management, a form of debt restructuring, to recover funds it said it is owed.

In 2022, Singapore Police Force charged Xie, who was also the former Director of Zenrock, and his former Operations Executive, Zhang Taiming, for offences relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust, and forgery involving more than USD105 million. 

Investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department of the SPF revealed that sometime between February and March 2020, Xie and Zhang Taiming had allegedly used forged documents to cheat the Bank of China Limited (Singapore) of a sum of USD54 million.

Both Xie and Zhang Taiming are also alleged to have committed criminal breach of trust by dishonestly re-assigning to the Bank of China Limited (Singapore) the proceeds from a sale of cargo oil that it had charged to Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (Singapore) and cheated Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank of a sum of USD17 million.

A complete coverage of the events leading to the liquidation of ZenRock Commodities Trading has been arranged by Singapore bunker publication Manifold Times (in descending date order) below: 

Related: Liquidators issue notice of intended dividend for ZenRock Commodities Trading
Related: Liquidators of Zenrock Commodities announce intended dividend to creditors
Related: Zenrock Commodities files for winding up order, hearing date set
Related: Singapore: High Court grant HSBC’s request to place Zenrock under judicial management
Related: Singapore: Troubled Zenrock Commodities rumoured to be winding down in August
Related: Update: Hearing date set for HSBC application to place Zenrock under judicial management
Related: Zenrock assents to HSBC’s application for it to be placed under judicial management
Related: Argus Media: HSBC accuses Singapore’s Zenrock of ‘suspicious’ trades
Related: HSBC accuses Zenrock of fraudulent dealings, files for legal action amid credit concerns
Related: Winson Group and ZenRock Commodities reassure fiscal stability despite Hin Leong fiasco

Photo credit: Ekaterina Bolovtsova
Published: 16 January, 2024