Asia/Pacific News
Former CFO of Singapore Bunker Supplier Coastal Oil Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud
The former chief financial officer of collapsed Singapore bunker supplier Coastal Oil has pleaded guilty to defrauding banks of as much as $340 million.
On Monday former CFO Ong Ah Huat pleaded guilty to 15 of the 58 charges against him, mainly abetment of forgery and cheating, Singapore news provider the Business Times reported.
Eight banks -- China Merchant Bank, Bank of Communications (Hong Kong), BNP Paribas SA (Hong Kong), Cooperative Rabobank (Hong Kong), DBS Bank (Hong Kong), HSBC (Hong Kong), OCBC (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) -- were defrauded between June 2017 and December 2018.
The prosecution is seeking a nine-year prison term for Ong, the Business Times said.
Coastal Oil filed for voluntary liquidation in December 2018, and allegations of debt fraud emerged in January 2019.
