TWO former senior employees of UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) were charged on Wednesday for allegedly lying to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in relation to reports on a then Catalist aspirant. Lan Kang Ming, 38, and Wee Toon Lee, 34, each face three charges of providing MAS with false information in October 2018 in relation to due diligence reports on an unidentified company applying to list on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. MAS said in a media statement on Wednesday that it was performing an onsite inspection of UOBKH between June and August 2018, to assess the latter's controls, policies and procedures in relation to its role as an issue manager for Initial Public Offering (IPOs). During the examination, Lan and Wee were said to have provided different versions of a due diligence report relating to background checks on a company applying to be listed on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange. UOBKH had acted as the issue manager
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Bloomberg
04 June 2015
The executive deputy chairman of LionGold Corp., one of three companies being probed in Singapore after their shares plunged in October 2013, was sued to repay money borrowed to buy stock.
MD Wira Dani Bin Abdul Daim owed Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte $2.6 million for LionGold shares bought in a leveraged account, according to a lawsuit filed April in the Singapore High Court. The brokerage received court approval last month to serve the lawsuit on the son of former Malaysian Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin.
Shares of LionGold, Blumont Group Ltd. and Asiasons Capital Ltd. plummeted in October 2013, wiping US$6.9 billion off their market value over three days. The rout prompted the Singapore authorities to investigate suspected stock-trading irregularities and lawsuits by banks and brokers seeking to recover at least US$230 million. The three companies have said they aren’t aware of what caused the decline.
Maybank Kim Eng declined to comment in an e-mailed statement, citing client confidentiality. MD Wira didn’t reply to three e-mails or return seven phone calls seeking comment.
MD Wira said in a January e-mail to the brokerage unit of Malayan Banking, Malaysia’s biggest lender, that he was “determined to resolve the situation amicably.” It didn’t accept his proposal, according to court papers.
He had earlier agreed to pay the bank in installments, but only paid $100,000 in August 2014.
“Cash has been tight with many investments made and unfortunately not the best of times to cash out and exit,” he said in his e-mail.
LionGold was unchanged at 2.2 cents as of 9:59 a.m. on Thursday, giving it a market value of $26.9 million. It was valued at $1.59 billion at its peak in August 2013.
Singapore police said they’re working with the central bank to “expeditiously” complete the probe.
The case is Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte. v Md Wira Dani Bin Abdul Daim, S380/2015. Singapore High Court.