Lim Oon Kuin, founder of Singapore oil firm Hin Leong Trading, was charged in a Singapore court on Friday with abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating. Lim faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of the forgery.
Hin Leong has been under judicial management since April after the company ran into trouble with the plunging price of oil and earlier financial misdemeanours were uncovered. Its downfall has also placed subsidiary Ocean Tankers into judicial management.
Lim was accused of getting an employee to forge a document supposedly issued by UT Singapore Services stating that Hin Leong had transferred more than 1m barrels of gasoil to China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. The document was then allegedly used to secure more than $56m in trade financing from a financial institution.
