SINGAPORE – Lim Oon Kuin, the founder of collapsed oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading, was slapped with 105 new charges of cheating and forgery in court on Thursday morning (June 24).
The new charges comprised 68 charges of cheating, 36 charges of conspiracy to commit forgery and one charge of conspiracy to forge a valuable security.
These are in addition to 25 forgery-related charges filed against the 79-year-old former oil tycoon, better known as O.K. Lim, last year and in April this year.
Lim’s $3 million court bail was raised by another $1 million to a total of $4 million.
Hin Leong collapsed last year owing US$3.5 billion (S$4.7 billion) after the oil price plunge sparked a debt default that exposed years of hidden losses and alleged fraud by the Lim family. The firm was wound up in March after three bidders walked away from a deal to buy Hin Leong and two related companies as a combined entity.
Last month, the judicial managers turned liquidators of Hin Leong succeeded in freezing the Lim family’s assets worldwide in their bid to recoup the US$3.5 billion debt.
Last August, the judicial managers sued to force the Lim family to repay the US$3.5 billion debt and $90 million in dividends they allegedly paid themselves, even though their firm was insolvent. The asset freeze order application was made to ensure that there are enough proceeds to enforce against, should the judicial managers win the lawsuit.