Indonesian tycoon and CEO of Singapore-listed offshore and marine company Kingsing Energy Group Ltd (KS Energy) Kris Taenar Wiluan was slapped on Wednesday with 112 charges concerning violations of Section 197 of Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act, which deals with false trading and market-rigging transactions.
Kris, also founder of Indonesia’s Citramas Group, was accused of instructing his employee, Ho Chee Yen, to instruct a trading representative from CIMB Securities (Singapore) Pte Ltd to execute trades in the shares of KS Energy through the trading account of Pacific One Energy Ltd – a company controlled by Kris – on various occasions between December 2014 and September 2016, to “push up” the share price of the mainboard-listed company.
For her alleged role, Ho, 56, faces 92 counts of violating the Securities and Futures Act.
If convicted, offenders can be jailed for up to seven years and fined a maximum of S$250,000 (US$180,000).
Kris, 71, who was ranked Indonesia’s 40th richest man by Forbes in 2009 with a personal net worth of $240 million, was also accused of instructing Ngin Kim Choo, a CIMB Securities trading representative servicing the trading account of Pacific One, to execute trades in KS Energy’s shares, “with a purpose to push up” its prices, on several occasions between May and July 2016, and in June 2015.
Ho was accused of “abetting by intentionally aiding” Kris by relaying his instructions to Ngin and Yeo Jin Lui, another trader with CIMB Securities, to execute trades in KS Energy shares, between December 2014 and September 2016, through Pacific One’s trading account “with a purpose to push up the price of the securities”.
Represented by Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Mahesh Rai of Drew & Napier LLC, Kris is out on court bail of S$250,000. Ho, who is represented by Chia Kok Seng of KSCGP Juris LLP, is out on court bail of S$70,000. Both have also surrendered their passports.
In 2017, Kris and his son Richard James Wiluan were interviewed by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in its investigations into the potential contravention of Section 197 of the Securities and Futures Act. At the time, Kris posted police bail and was released after his interview while Richard was released without requiring bail.
The company told the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in April 2017 that: “Both have informed the board that they have and will continue to cooperate fully in the investigations, including granting access to all their electronic data, IT equipment and data storage devices from January 2015.”
KS Energy added that it has not been approached by the CAD regarding its investigations.
Shares of KS Energy, currently on SGX’s watch-list, closed flat at 1.6 Singapore cents (1.2 US cents) on Wednesday.
THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
