Legal

Founder OK Lim grilled by prosecutors on his involvement at Hin Leong Trading

Prosecutors accused Lim, who is accused of alleged cheating and forgery charges involving USD 111.7 million (SGD 148.7 million), of lying and playing down his involvement in the company’s dealings.

Published

1 year ago

November 22, 2023

Admin

Prosecutors grilled Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd Founder Lim Oon Kuin, who is accused of alleged cheating and forgery charges involving USD 111.7 million (SGD 148.7 million), over his role in the company at the Singapore State Courts on Monday (20 November), according to The Business Times.

Prosecutors accused him of lying and playing down his involvement in the company’s dealings.

During cross-examination, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Christopher Ong questioned Lim of his involvement in the company’s day-to-day operations until he stepped down as the managing direction in April 2020.

Lim said Hin Leong traders would inform him only “as a matter of formality” when asked if he would give approval to them for trades they conducted.

“If the deal is profitable and they are earning money for the company, of course they can do (the deals). They just informed me as a matter of formality that they have completed the deal,” Lim said as quoted by The Business Times.

In June, Hin Leong’s general manager for trading Wong See Meng had testified in court that he would get approval or in-principle approval from Lim or members of the Lim family for any deal that he wished to carry out. He added that he would get approval from Lim for deals involving gas oil and aviation fuel.

When asked by DPP Ong whether Wong had asked Lim for directions on whether sale deals should proceed, Lim disagreed.

Lim said: “He is holding such a senior position. If he needed to ask me before he could proceed, then what is the point of employing him?”

DPP Ong then suggested that Lim was lying when he said he did not approve the trades that Hin Leong conducted. Lim disagreed.

Lim also denied knowing what the term “discounting” meant when queried on discounting facilities that Hin Leong had with several banks including HSBC.

DPP Ong asked Lim whether he was aware that Hin Leong had a facility with HSBC where Hin Leong could present invoices for oil sales that it had made, and the bank would pay the company before payment from the buyer was due.

Lim said such things were “accounts matters”, and that he was never involved in accounts matters.

“I put it to you that your claim not to have known what discounting was, all the way up to April 12, 2020, is completely incredible,” DPP Ong said, to which Lim disagreed.

DPP Ong suggested that Lim knew about discounting “long before” 2020.

“I put it to you that you are lying about when and how you found out about the two discounting applications that had been made to HSBC,” DPP Ong said. Lim disagreed.

DPP Ong then suggested that Lim was “making up” evidence that his former personal assistant Serene Seng, whose last position at Hin Leong was manager of corporate affairs, approached him to do more trades when Hin Leong’s cashflows were low.

“I put it to you that you are trying to pretend that you had no involvement in dealing with Hin Leong’s low cash situations when they occurred,” said DPP Ong, to which Lim disagreed.

In April, the Singapore State Court heard Seng confess to lying during investigations by Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), when she said she was unable to recall events connected to a transaction that is related to Lim Oon Kuin’s criminal charges.

The 61-year-old who had worked at Hin Leong Trading for close to 30 years and whose last position was Manager of Corporate Affairs, testified against her former boss, Lim.

More than 100 other charges against Lim have been put on hold while this trial is in progress.

The 81-year-old went on trial when prosecution proceeded on three charges out of the total of 130 charges: Two counts of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of instigating a contracts executive of Hin Leong Trading to forge a false record.

The 130 charges were for the offences of cheating, abetment of forgery of a valuable security, and abetment of forgery.

The three charges relate to HSBC previously alleging Lim had falsified documents in order to obtain credit from the bank. In October, HSBC filed for legal action against the Lim family and a Hin Leong employee to recover USD 85.3 million of its USD 111.7 million exposure to Hin Leong.

In its filing, HSBC alleged that it was “fraudulently deceived” into lending USD 111.7 million by signing off a forged invoice for cargo sold to China Aviation Oil (CAO) for USD 56 million, the other for cargo sold to Unipec Singapore for USD 55.7 million.

An extensive coverage by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times regarding the fall of Hin Leong can be found below:

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 22 November, 2023

Related Topics:Legal - Corruption Legal - Crime

Up Next

PIER71 event showcases Singapore maritime digitalisation, decarbonisation solution startups

Don't Miss

VPS: Using data to improve fuel procurement and fuel efficiency

Winding up

Singapore: Notice of dividend issued for defunct bunkering firm Coastal Oil Singapore

Second and final dividend of Coastal Oil Singapore is scheduled to be released from 19 May; company’s former Chief Finance Officer received a nine-year jail sentence in 2021.

Published

14 hours ago

May 19, 2025

Admin

A notice was published in the Government Gazette on Friday (16 May), regarding the second and final dividend to creditors of defunct bunkering firm Coastal Oil Singapore Pte Ltd.

The following are details of the notice of dividend of the company:

Name of Company : Coastal Oil Singapore Pte. Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation) (Co. Reg. No 200413975N)
Address of Registered Office : 1 Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583
Amount per centum : 0.3552 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend
When payable : On or after 19 May 2025
Method of payment : Remittance or telegraphic transfer
Where payable : c/o FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, 1 Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583

In 2021, the former Chief Finance Officer of Coastal Oil Singapore received a nine-year jail sentence at the State Courts of Singapore.

Ong Ah Huat earlier pleaded guilty to 15 charges; the charges include three counts of engaging in a scheme to defraud and nine counts of forgery for conspiring with accomplices to defraud eight banks into approving USD 320 million in loans.

The banks involved were: China Merchants Bank (Singapore), Bank of Communications (Hong Kong), BNP Paribas (Hong Kong), Cooperative Rabobank (Hong Kong), DBS Bank (Hong Kong), HSBC (Hong Kong), OCBC (Hong Kong), and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong).

In 2019, Manifold Times reported Hong Kong-listed COSCO SHIPPING International (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd stating its indirect wholly-owned bunkering subsidiary Sinfeng suspecting fraud to be involved in the liquidation of Coastal Oil Singapore during December 2018.

It was believed Coastal Oil Singapore owed approximately US $357 million to 79 firms. Out of the total USD 357 million, banks were the hardest hit taking up about US $354 million, or 99.1%, of total credit owed.

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

Related: Notice of intended dividend issued for defunct bunkering firm Coastal Oil Singapore
Related: Former CFO of defunct bunkering firm Coastal Oil Singapore receives nine-year jail sentence
Related: Former Coastal Oil CFO admits to defrauding eight banks of USD 320 million in loans
Related: Singapore: Former Coastal Oil employees face forgery charges over fake sales contracts
Related: Coastal Oil hearings progress, court grants liquidators access to Sinfeng documents
Related: China Merchants Bank legal suit with Sinfeng over alleged $13 million debt progresses
Related: Fraud suspected in Coastal Oil Singapore case, says COSCO
Related: Coastal Logistics owned “Atalanta”, “Babylon” to undergo auction
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Mercury” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Coastal Logistics owned MR tanker “Babylon” arrested
Related: Fraud suspected in Coastal Oil Singapore case, says COSCO
Related: Coastal Oil Singapore: Creditor list surfaces in bunker market
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Coastal Oil Singapore creditors meeting scheduled on 10 Jan
Related: Coastal Oil Singapore in US $380 million debt to at least 10 banks
Related: Singapore: Coastal Logistics owned MR tanker “Atalanta” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market
Related: Coastal Oil Singapore to hold creditors meeting on 28 Dec
Related: Breaking news: Coastal Oil Singapore under liquidation

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 19 May, 2025

Vessel Arrest

Malaysia: MMEA detains Liberia-registered boxship for illegal anchoring off Sekinchan

Container ship was anchored without permission at 22.5 nautical miles southwest of Sekinchan on 16 May; Russian captain and Second Engineer were taken to headquarters for further investigation.

Published

14 hours ago

May 19, 2025

Admin

Malaysia: MMEA detains Liberia-registered boxship for illegal anchoring off Sekinchan

The Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Sunday (18 May) said it detained a Liberia-registered container ship for anchoring without permission at 22.5 nautical miles southwest of Sekinchan at about 1.20pm on 16 May.

Selangor Maritime director Maritime Captain Maritime Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said the Klang Area Control Centre’s Maritime Surveillance System detected the position of the suspicious vessel at about 9.20am.

He said checks with the Central Region Maritime Department found that the container ship did not apply for permission to anchor.

Preliminary inspection found that the ship was registered in Liberia and is operated by a 44-year-old Russian captain along with 23 crew from various nationalities aged between 32 to 50 years. All of them had complete identification documents.

Further investigation found that the captain of the ship failed to present any documents showing permission to anchor.

Following that, Abdul Muhaimin said a detention order was issued for the vessel while the captain and a Second Engineer were brought to the Selangor Maritime Department headquarters for further investigations.

The case is being investigated under the Merchant Ship Ordinance 1952 for docking without permission from the Malaysian Marine Department director-general.

“If found guilty, they could be imposed a fine of not more than MYR 100,000 or a jail term of two years or both,” he said.

Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 19 May, 2025

Sanctions

CCIC Singapore amongst nearly 24 firms named in latest US OFAC sanctions

Marine fuel testing and surveying firm CCIC Singapore was accused of concealing the identity of a sanctioned vessel and certifying its Iranian oil cargo as Malaysian heavy crude oil in mid-2024.

Published

6 days ago

May 14, 2025

Admin

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday (13 May) sanctioned nearly two dozen firms operating in multiple jurisdictions, including marine fuel testing and surveying firm CCIC Singapore Pte Ltd (CCIC Singapore).

OFAC said the Iranian government allocates billions of dollars’ worth of oil annually to its armed forces to supplement their budget allocations, underwriting the development of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as financing regional terrorist groups.

“Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and its main commercial affiliate, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company (Sepehr Energy), continue to establish front companies and rely on buyers and facilitators to enable their sanctioned oil trade,” it said on its website.

OFAC alleged that Sepehr Energy has “consistently relied” on CCIC Singapore to accomplish not only the necessary pre-delivery cargo inspections required before oil is transferred to China, but also to conceal the oil’s Iranian origins.

In late 2024, CCIC Singapore provided inspection services during a ship-to-ship transfer of approximately two million barrels of Iranian oil from the sanctioned vessel and Sepehr Energy-affiliated SIRI (IMO 9281683), formerly known as the ANTHEA.

In mid-2024, CCIC Singapore also allegedly provided inspection services for the sanctioned vessel HECATE (IMO 9233753) and likely provided falsified documents concealing the vessel’s identity and certifying its Iranian oil cargo as Malaysian heavy crude oil. From late-2023 until at least late-2024, China-based CCIC sister company Huangdao Inspection and Certification Co., Ltd similarly provided oil cargo inspection services to numerous vessels already sanctioned for transporting Iranian oil.

“CCIC Singapore PTE. Ltd. and Huangdao Inspection and Certification Co., Ltd are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sepehr Energy,” OFAC said.

Once the oil reaches ports in China, Sepehr Energy and its fronts are reliant on complicit local agencies to handle vessel berthing and discharge operations, as well as transportation and storage services for the vessels’ oil cargoes.

Entities in Shandong province, which is home to many of China’s small, independent teapot refineries—the primary purchasers of Iranian crude oil—have been especially willing to aid sanctioned Iranian vessels and oil cargoes.

OFAC added other companies—typically small agencies with generic or non-descript stated business purposes—have served as the middlemen between Sepehr Energy and Shandong’s teapot refineries by acting as the purchasers of the oil.

In early 2024, Hong Kong-based companies Metaone Trading Limited, South Sea Energy Limited, Continental Sinoil Group Limited, Winso Trading Limited, and Singapore-based Oriental Apple Company Pte Ltd collectively took delivery of millions of barrels of Iranian oil from Sepehr Energy front Xin Rui Ji, likely as representatives of the small, independent teapot refineries based near Qingdao Port area in Shandong province.

Note: The full list of sanctioned companies can be found here.

Related: Shell MGO bunker heist: Ex-CCIC Singapore surveyor pleads guilty to misconduct, receiving USD 12k in bribes

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 14 May, 2025