Tan Wee Beng, a 43-year old Singaporean managing director of commodity trading company Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd, who is also on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most wanted list has been charged with forging invoices to conceal deals made with North Korean proliferation entities, reports Channel News Asia.
Tan was charged in Singapore (19 June) for 20 alleged counts of forgery to cover his tracks from banks after having sold sugar to parties from North Korea from his company Wee Tiong Pte Ltd and its affiliated firm, Morgan Marcos.
Along with Tan, Malaysian Bong Hui Ping, shipping manager at the company was charged for aiding and abetting Tan to commit the 20 counts of forgery.
According to the FBI arrest warrant, Tan and others in his company allegedly fulfilled millions of dollars in commodities contracts for North Korea as early as 2011.
“To do so, Tan Wee Beng allegedly made a concerted effort to launder money through the United States and Singaporean financial systems by concealing payment origins and structuring transactions to avoid regulator scrutiny”, explained the FBI.
“In some cases, when wire payments were rejected, Tan Wee Beng and Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd orchestrated payment in bulk cash, often hand-delivered by North Koreans.”
Photo credit: US Federal Bureau of Investigation
Published: 22 June, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve and MPA is working closely with other agencies to monitor the situation, both globally and in Singapore, the port authority tells Manifold Times.
Caroline Yang, President of SSA, addresses issues earlier raised by players; including PMC No. 04, the seven-day restriction, contactless bunkering, sampling point, hose connection, and more.
IBIA Asia, ABIS, sources from Singapore’s bunkering and surveying companies, and an industry veteran share with Manifold Times the issues expected from MPA’s latest Covid-19 measures.
The top three positive movers in the 2020 bunker supplier list are Hong Lam Fuels Pte Ltd (+13); Chevron Singapore Pte Ltd (+12); and SK Energy International (+8), according to MPA list.
‘We will operate in the Singapore bunkering market from the Tokyo, with support from local staff at Sumitomo Corporation Singapore,’ source tells Manifold Times.
Changes include abolishing advance declaration of bunkers as dangerous cargo, reducing pilotage fees on vessels receiving bunkers, and a ‘whitelist’ system for bunker tankers.