18-11-2024 (SINGAPORE) Lim Oon Kuin, the 82-year-old founder of Hin Leong Trading, has been handed a 17-and-a-half-year prison sentence for orchestrating one of the city-state’s most egregious trade financing frauds.
The octogenarian, widely known as O.K. Lim, received his sentence on Monday following a gruelling 62-day trial that exposed a web of deception at the heart of his family-run empire. The court found Lim guilty of two counts of cheating and one charge of instigating forgery, crimes that prosecutors argued had inflicted significant damage to Singapore’s standing as Asia’s premier oil trading hub.
The verdict unveiled a sophisticated scheme wherein Lim fabricated oil sales contracts with China Aviation Oil (Singapore) and Unipec Singapore to deceive HSBC. Through this elaborate deception, Hin Leong secured US$111.6 million in financing, leaving the bank with an outstanding loss of US$85 million.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Christopher Ong, who had initially pushed for a maximum 20-year sentence, characterised the offences as “examples of the worst possible offences of cheating”. The prosecution emphasised how Lim’s actions had undermined Singapore’s financial services sector and potentially damaged public confidence in the nation’s oil industry.
The sentencing comes amid broader legal developments involving the Lim family. In a separate civil case concluded in September, Lim and his children, Evan Lim Chee Meng and Lim Huey Ching, agreed to a US$3.5 billion settlement with liquidators of their collapsed trading firm. However, the family has indicated their inability to meet these obligations and has filed for bankruptcy, with proceedings scheduled for 26 November.
The case has also reached a resolution with HSBC Holdings through a consent judgment, ending a 50-day civil trial that ran parallel to the criminal proceedings. This judgment addressed the bank’s claim for US$85.3 million in damages against the Lim family and a former personal assistant.
