12 Charged With Corruption in Singapore Over Shell MGO Theft

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday April 14, 2022

Singapore's authorities have charged 12 individuals with corruption in relation to the alleged MGO theft case from Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery.

The 12 individuals allegedly accepted bribes totalling at least $213,000 by former Shell employees between 2014 and 2017, Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in a statement on its website on Thursday. The bribes were allegedly given as rewards for refraining from accurately reporting the amount of oil loaded onto vessels that Shell had engaged their companies to inspect.

The case relates to the theft of more than $200 million's worth of MGO from Shell over multiple years. Shell first alerted the police to its loss of MGO in 2017.

The CPIB statement lists the following details about the individuals charged:

  • A Duraisamy (60-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek Testing Services Pte Ltd ("Intertek") and Inspectorate Singapore Pte Ltd ("Inspectorate") at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$31,000. For his actions, he will face three charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, of which two charges are amalgamated charges under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Jasbir Singh S/O Paramjit Singh (37-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$15,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Anand S/O Omprekas (39-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek and CCIC Singapore Pte Ltd ("CCIC") at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling S$20,000. For his actions, he will face two charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which are amalgamated charges under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Noruliman Bin Bakti (40-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek and CCIC at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$25,000. For his actions, he will face two charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which are amalgamated charges under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Muhammad Ali Bin Muhammad Nor (55-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$90,000. He also allegedly used about S$39,000 of his criminal proceeds to purchase a BMW 523i motor vehicle. For his actions, he will face one charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code. He will also face an additional charge for an offence punishable under Section 47(1)(c) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

  • Erwin Suhardi Bin Jamaluddin (38-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$10,000. For his actions, he will face two charges for offences punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

  • Lee Been Lian (李明連, 57-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Intertek at the material time allegedly accepted a bribe of US$5,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

  • Naushad Carrim Tengur (45-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident), Surveyor with Inspectorate at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$6,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Muhammad Khairul Asri Bin Mohamad Hanafiah (38-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with Inspectorate at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$6,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Kumunan S/O Rethana Kumaran (40-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with CCIC at the material time allegedly accepted bribes totalling US$12,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which is an amalgamated charge under Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

  • Paramanandham Srinivasan (39-year-old male Indian National), Surveyor with SGS Testing & Control Services Singapore Pte Ltd ("SGS") at the material time allegedly accepted a bribe of US$3,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

  • Rizal Bin Zulkeflee (38-year-old male Singaporean), Surveyor with SGS at the material time allegedly accepted a bribe of US$10,000. For his actions, he will face a charge for an offence punishable under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"Singapore adopts a strict zero-tolerance approach towards corruption," the CPIB said in the statement.

"Any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or to both."

Ship & Bunker News Team
To contact the editor responsible for this story email us at editor@shipandbunker.com