SINGAPORE: The founder of Singapore’s giant oil trader Hin Leong Trading (HLT), Lim Oon Kuin, has been recently sued by liquidators and he has to pay US$3.5 billion ($4.7 billion) in company obligations.
According to CNA, the 81-year-old former oil billionaire, better known by his stage name OK Lim, and his children allegedly tried to portray Hin Leong as a successful and healthy company to continue obtaining finance, despite the fact that the company had been racking up significant losses for years.
The Lim family, including Lim Huey Ching, son Evan Lim Chee Meng, and compulsory liquidation, are being ordered to pay Hin Leong US$3.5 billion for alleged scams that involved selling the same cargo to multiple parties, pledging cargo that Hin Leong did not own, and using forged sales contracts and invoices.
The Lim family is also being held legally accountable for all of Hin Leong’s debts and is also being asked to repay US$90 million in dividends not properly paid to them through 2017 and 2018.
The family has been accused of misleading banks into extending funding by hiding his financial situation, and Lim is being sued by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) for two applications that were submitted with false documentation, resulting in Hin Leong paying Hin Leong US$111.7 million in March 2020.
Source: Sun Daily
