SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Two former employees of Singapore marine fuel firm Coastal Oil were charged on Friday for allegedly being involved in a series of offences to cheat eight banks of more than $340 million.
Singaporeans Ong Ah Huat and Huang Peishi were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to cheat and forgery in transactions involving HSBC, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, DBS, OCBC, Bank of Communications, China Merchant Bank and Rabobank, according to court documents seen by Reuters.
Singapore police said in a statement that a former chief finance officer and treasury manager had allegedly created fictitious sales contracts and invoices to obtain financing between July 2017 and December 2018.
The statement did not name the company or the accused but a spokesman said the pair were charged on Friday morning.
Ong and Huang could not be reached for comment. Coastal Oil filed for liquidation in 2018 and could not be reached.
Each offence of cheating or forgery carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, while additional charges brought against the pair of abetting the entering of an arrangement to facilitate the benefits of criminal conduct carries a fine of up to S$500,000, a jail term of up to 10 years, or both.
(Reporting by John Geddie and Roslan Khasawneh; Editing by Louise Heavens)
