Lawsuits shine light on Goldman’s role in Asiasons, Blumont and LionGold crash

[greengiraffe]

Maybe Azlan too prominent liao...

PUBLISHED APRIL 12, 2014

More ripples from CAD penny stock probe

BYANITA GABRIEL
anitag@sph.com.sg @AnitaGabrielBT
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So far, apart from Innopac's Mr Wong, three other top management individuals have had their passports impounded in the course of the probe.
Singapore
INNOPAC managing director and chief executive Wong Chin Yong has become the fourth top executive to have his passport impounded by Singapore's white-collar crime buster in the probe into possible breaches of securities laws.
Mr Wong, who has been Innopac's boss since 2001, surrendered his passport to the Commercial Affairs Department in the investigation into false trading and market rigging - offences under Section 197 of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap 289).
Innopac said the CAD has also informed Mr Wong that he can apply to travel, if necessary.
So far, apart from Mr Wong, three other top management individuals have had their passports impounded in the course of the probe.
They include Magnus Energy Group executive director Koh Teng Kiat and chief financial officer Luke Ho Khee Yong.
Annica Holdings chairman and executive director Edwin Sugiarto - the firm's majority shareholder - has also faced a similar fate with his travel documents while he is currently on police bail.
In an announcement to Singapore Exchange yesterday, Innopac said that the CAD had served orders on April 2 to the company, five of its subsidiaries and a former associate company to hand over all information and data belonging to these entities from Jan 1, 2011 to date.
Earlier in the week, the investment holding company had asked SGX for a two-month extension to hold its annual general meeting as the CAD had seized its computers, data storage devices and files.
It has since obtained copies of the documents from the CAD to prepare its audit report and annual report for 2013.
Over a week ago, the CAD revealed that it was investigating trading irregularities in three battered penny stocks - Asiasons Capital, Blumont Group and LionGold.
The white-collar crime fighter has since, in a sweeping probe that took the market by surprise, pushed for eight listed firms and their subsidiaries as well as 13 key executives for all data and information belonging to them dating back from Jan 1, 2011 to date.
These firms are connected to one another through common directors or shareholders via a tangled web of cross-holdings.
Only one of the trio, Asiasons, whose shares suffered savage selling last October, triggering the probe that is currently underway, appears to be somewhat spared from the probe.
Last week, Asiasons said that neither the company, its subsidiaries nor any directors and officers have received any notice or order from any governmental authorities to assist in the investigation.
Still, there are changes afoot, even for Asiasons, which recently said that three directors, two of whom are the firm's co-founders, will retire as directors at the annual shareholder meeting on April 28.
That includes Mohammed Azlan Hashim - the most prominent corporate personality of the lot given that he was once the boss of Malaysia's stock exchange - who is Asiasons non-independent non-executive chairman.
Asiasons took some pains to highlight that Mr Azlan's voluntary retirement was in line with good corporate governance practice and that it would hire a new chairman, who would be an independent and non-executive director.
Noteworthy is that Mr Azlan has been holding that position for seven years.
The other co-founder not seeking re-election as director is Ng Teck Wah.

[greengiraffe]

CEO cites divorce in bid to free assets

Penny stock fallout exec wants to transfer 2 properties to ex-husband
Published on Apr 18, 2014 1:32 AM
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The Orange Grove Residences in Tanglin is one of two properties that Ms Quah Su-Ling wants to transfer to her former husband. However, her creditor maintains that this can be done only if both parties agree. -- ST PHOTO: MATTHIAS HO

By Grace Leong

AN EXECUTIVE caught up in the scandal over last October's penny stock crash has invoked a divorce court order to try to free up two Singapore properties frozen by creditors.

Ms Quah Su-Ling, chief executive of Ipco International, wants the High Court to allow her to meet the conditions of an interim judgment made by the Family Court on Nov 4.

This called for her to transfer a unit at the Country Grandeur in Upper Thomson and another in Orange Grove Residences in Tanglin to former husband Tan Kien Giap within three months from Feb 13.

That was when the interim judgment became final.

Recent sales transactions suggest the properties could fetch around $5 million, agents estimate.

United States-based Interactive Brokers won a court order on Nov 11 to freeze $10.2 million of Ms Quah's assets.

The brokerage is suing her and seven other clients to recover more than $79 million in trading losses stemming from the penny stock meltdown.

Ms Quah has asked the High Court to vary this order, in other words, to allow the properties to be transferred.

The Straits Times understands that at least one of the other clients sued by Interactive has filed for divorce, this time in Malaysia. The client has also made a similar request to Malaysia's High Court.

Ms Quah contends that the Family Court ruling on Nov 4 - made seven days before the Interactive order was issued - should take precedence.

She said she would be in contempt of the Family Court and risk having enforcement proceedings brought against her if she fails to transfer the properties.

But Interactive's lawyers, in court papers seen by The Straits Times, objected to the transfer, saying Ms Quah "proceeds at her own peril".

They argued that the freezing order may be varied only if both parties agree in writing.

Ms Quah described Interactive's objection as "unreasonable". Court documents show that Ms Quah started divorce proceedings on Oct 21 last year and her marriage of 26 years was dissolved on Feb 13 this year.

She told the High Court that she had not disclosed to Interactive her divorce proceedings or her obligations to transfer the properties to Mr Tan because "quite frankly, it had slipped my mind until recently in late January 2014".

She said the decision to get a divorce "had been decided some time before Oct 2, when all my troubles began and the prices of my shares in the companies, namely Asiasons Capital, Blumont Group and LionGold Corp, collapsed".

She said: "The family decided that I would retain all my stock and shares in the various public listed companies I owned and my ex-husband would take over my rights, share and interest in all real property, including the (two) properties.

"After the share price collapse and my troubles began, I was overwhelmed by legal proceedings and the divorce proceedings became secondary to me because everything had already been agreed."

The shares of the three listed firms rocketed to record levels last year before going into a tailspin on Oct 4, wiping out about $8 billion in stock market value.

Ms Quah said Mr Tan began pressuring her at the end of January to transfer the properties to him. But she said she held him off in the hope that the emergency arbitrator in the Interactive case would not uphold the freezing of her assets.

"Regrettably, the interim award of the emergency arbitrator is not in my favour, and I now have no choice but to comply" with the Family Court order, she said.

gleong@sph.com.sg

[waiyip]

Could someone enlighten me if goldman Sachs was the one who first triggered the huge selling of the three penny stock counters that leads to the subsequent dumping of shares, plummeting the share prices?

[Behappyalways]

The timing is interesting....


Ms Quah described Interactive's objection as "unreasonable". Court documents show that Ms Quah started divorce proceedings on Oct 21 last year and her marriage of 26 years was dissolved on Feb 13 this year.

She said the decision to get a divorce "had been decided some time before Oct 2, when all my troubles began and the prices of my shares in the companies, namely Asiasons Capital, Blumont Group and LionGold Corp, collapsed".

CEO cites divorce in bid to free assets

Penny stock fallout exec wants to transfer 2 properties to ex-husband
Published on Apr 18, 2014 1:32 AM
PRINT EMAIL

The Orange Grove Residences in Tanglin is one of two properties that Ms Quah Su-Ling wants to transfer to her former husband. However, her creditor maintains that this can be done only if both parties agree. -- ST PHOTO: MATTHIAS HO

By Grace Leong

AN EXECUTIVE caught up in the scandal over last October's penny stock crash has invoked a divorce court order to try to free up two Singapore properties frozen by creditors.

Ms Quah Su-Ling, chief executive of Ipco International, wants the High Court to allow her to meet the conditions of an interim judgment made by the Family Court on Nov 4.

This called for her to transfer a unit at the Country Grandeur in Upper Thomson and another in Orange Grove Residences in Tanglin to former husband Tan Kien Giap within three months from Feb 13.

That was when the interim judgment became final.

Recent sales transactions suggest the properties could fetch around $5 million, agents estimate.

United States-based Interactive Brokers won a court order on Nov 11 to freeze $10.2 million of Ms Quah's assets.

The brokerage is suing her and seven other clients to recover more than $79 million in trading losses stemming from the penny stock meltdown.

Ms Quah has asked the High Court to vary this order, in other words, to allow the properties to be transferred.

The Straits Times understands that at least one of the other clients sued by Interactive has filed for divorce, this time in Malaysia. The client has also made a similar request to Malaysia's High Court.

Ms Quah contends that the Family Court ruling on Nov 4 - made seven days before the Interactive order was issued - should take precedence.

She said she would be in contempt of the Family Court and risk having enforcement proceedings brought against her if she fails to transfer the properties.

But Interactive's lawyers, in court papers seen by The Straits Times, objected to the transfer, saying Ms Quah "proceeds at her own peril".

They argued that the freezing order may be varied only if both parties agree in writing.

Ms Quah described Interactive's objection as "unreasonable". Court documents show that Ms Quah started divorce proceedings on Oct 21 last year and her marriage of 26 years was dissolved on Feb 13 this year.

She told the High Court that she had not disclosed to Interactive her divorce proceedings or her obligations to transfer the properties to Mr Tan because "quite frankly, it had slipped my mind until recently in late January 2014".

She said the decision to get a divorce "had been decided some time before Oct 2, when all my troubles began and the prices of my shares in the companies, namely Asiasons Capital, Blumont Group and LionGold Corp, collapsed".

She said: "The family decided that I would retain all my stock and shares in the various public listed companies I owned and my ex-husband would take over my rights, share and interest in all real property, including the (two) properties.

"After the share price collapse and my troubles began, I was overwhelmed by legal proceedings and the divorce proceedings became secondary to me because everything had already been agreed."

The shares of the three listed firms rocketed to record levels last year before going into a tailspin on Oct 4, wiping out about $8 billion in stock market value.

Ms Quah said Mr Tan began pressuring her at the end of January to transfer the properties to him. But she said she held him off in the hope that the emergency arbitrator in the Interactive case would not uphold the freezing of her assets.

"Regrettably, the interim award of the emergency arbitrator is not in my favour, and I now have no choice but to comply" with the Family Court order, she said.

gleong@sph.com.sg

[greengiraffe]

Penny stocks under probe shunned by investors

8 companies' shares badly hit, with two of them down by 40% or more
Published on Apr 19, 2014 1:13 AM
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By Rennie Whang

THE shares of the eight firms under the spotlight over the penny stock crash have suffered considerably since the investigation was first announced on April 2, with two off by 40 per cent or more.

The shares of Blumont Group and LionGold Corp are down by 43.3 per cent and 29.3 per cent respectively in the month to date.

Other big losers include Annica Holdings which has fallen by 40 per cent. Innopac Holdings and Magnus Energy have also lost about 30 per cent of their stock value in the month to date. All three companies had their key executives' passports impounded.

Remisier Alvin Goh said few retail investors dare to invest in these counters due to the uncertainty over the investigations by white-collar crimebuster Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).

"There's a huge risk in these penny counters right now. For one thing, we don't know the outcome of the CAD investigations. Also, if the firms are found to be in breach of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), investors aren't clear if they will be subject to any penalties."

There may be other value investors to buy these shares if they are attractive enough, but there are probably better stocks out there, he added. "I foresee market investors will shun them until the CAD investigations are over, or the regulatory outlook is clearer for these counters."

However, he does not see prices sliding much further.

"The worst of the news is out. Those who have units to sell will have sold them already. Given current prices, those investors using margin would have got margin calls a long time ago."

At the same time, it does not mean share prices of the eight companies will recover as "fundamentals are weak", he said.

"I would be sceptical if anyone is thinking of buying these counters."

Indeed, six months after the penny stock crash, shares held by a Blumont executive are still being force-sold.

Just last week, Blumont announced that three million shares held by executive director James Hong Gee Ho were force-sold for $123,750.

This was after 8.3 million of his shares were force-sold for $455,304 over eight occasions last month.

Mr Hong's stake in the firm now stands at 0.077 per cent or two million shares, down from 2.26 per cent or nearly 39 million shares before the October crash.

Although Thursday was the deadline for Blumont to find someone to replace previous independent director Ng Su Ling, there has also been no word on a replacement.

The firm's deadline had been extended by two months by the Singapore Exchange from Feb 17.

Blumont said on April 4 that it had been actively searching, but was unsuccessful due to the "specialised nature of the mineral and energy resources sector".

Noting the fall in share price and subsequent close market scrutiny, it added: "Most potential candidates that the company has interviewed have expressed caution and asked that they be given more time to consider the role."

wrennie@sph.com.sg

[greengiraffe]

PENNY STOCK PROBE
CAD asks for more data from firms
Published on Apr 30, 2014 1:14 AM


By Grace Leong

BLUMONT Group and LionGold Corp were asked yesterday to provide more documents and accounting records to the authorities investigating the penny stock crash that wiped out billions of dollars in market value last October.

The request for further data comes after the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) seized computers, data storage devices and financial records from eight firms and their subsidiaries on April 2 as part of a sweeping probe into trading irregularities in Blumont, Asiasons Capital and LionGold Corp.

LionGold was asked yesterday to provide accounting records and minutes of meetings and resolutions from April 1, 2010, to March 31. It also sought directors' e-mail and those of the adviser to the chairman, and e-mail of certain key management personnel.

Documents relating to LionGold's proposed acquisition of Minera IRL were also requested. Both parties agreed on Oct 10 last year to abort negotiations due to volatility in LionGold's share price.

Blumont, G1 Investments and its wholly-owned unit, Waddells International, were also asked to provide accounting records and other data from Jan 1, 2011, to March 31. The CAD asked for all documents relating to announcements made by Blumont regarding several proposed acquisitions.

In particular, the CAD wants data on Blumont's proposed takeover of Australian-listed Cokal, the proposed acquisitions of Hudson Minerals Holdings and Powerlite Ventures, and a proposed investment in Resource Generation.

The CAD also sought data on a results warning lodged by Blumont on the Singapore Exchange on July 19 last year. Blumont had said that it was likely to report a loss for the second quarter. It attributed the projected loss to "unrealised losses arising from fair value re-adjustments of the group's investment in transferable securities as well as the provision to be made for impairment for investments and assets affected by the recent volatility and downturn in the financial market and global economy".

Earlier this month, Blumont executive chairman Neo Kim Hock and executive director James Hong Gee Ho were among 13 executives asked to provide all of their corporate data from Jan 1, 2011, to April 3. Asiasons has maintained that none of its units or directors has been asked to assist in the probe.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and CAD are investigating alleged false trading and market rigging after shares of the three penny stocks skyrocketed between 40 and 160 per cent last August and September before plunging between 91 and 96 per cent over a few days in October, erasing more than $8 billion in market value.

Less than 12 hours after announcing an agreement to take over Cokal, Blumont called off the $146 million deal on Oct 4.

In January, Blumont also shelved its acquisition of iron ore miner Hudson Mineral Holdings.

gleong@sph.com.sg

[specuvestor]

Hunting the tiger cub rather than the tiger:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/busines...shares-201

Interesting that Maybank allowed the lawsuit... maybe because Kim Eng refuse to close it?

Missed this last week:
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/...n-20140402

To paraphrase Xi JinPing, let's see if they have the political will to hunt the tiger down after swatting the flies

However IMHO I think all these people leads back to a Malaysia linked entity.

Do you think they are just the foot soldiers?

Soh and Lee were good friend from same Kumpung of Batu Pahat.

IIRC when Lion Gold first started being promoted by DMG, we asked them why they can acquire assets in Africa, answer was there was a well-connected Malaysian involved.

That is why I am not surprised that Malsysia linked brokers are involved. I am surprised that GS is involved. I'm wondering now who told GS to pull the plug. It would be interesting to see GS defence.

[greengiraffe]

I really dunno what is happening here... Singapore CAD so efficient meh... 13 months passed and still no updates...

PENNY STOCK PROBE
CAD asks for more data from firms
Published on Apr 30, 2014 1:14 AM


By Grace Leong

BLUMONT Group and LionGold Corp were asked yesterday to provide more documents and accounting records to the authorities investigating the penny stock crash that wiped out billions of dollars in market value last October.

The request for further data comes after the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) seized computers, data storage devices and financial records from eight firms and their subsidiaries on April 2 as part of a sweeping probe into trading irregularities in Blumont, Asiasons Capital and LionGold Corp.

LionGold was asked yesterday to provide accounting records and minutes of meetings and resolutions from April 1, 2010, to March 31. It also sought directors' e-mail and those of the adviser to the chairman, and e-mail of certain key management personnel.

Documents relating to LionGold's proposed acquisition of Minera IRL were also requested. Both parties agreed on Oct 10 last year to abort negotiations due to volatility in LionGold's share price.

Blumont, G1 Investments and its wholly-owned unit, Waddells International, were also asked to provide accounting records and other data from Jan 1, 2011, to March 31. The CAD asked for all documents relating to announcements made by Blumont regarding several proposed acquisitions.

In particular, the CAD wants data on Blumont's proposed takeover of Australian-listed Cokal, the proposed acquisitions of Hudson Minerals Holdings and Powerlite Ventures, and a proposed investment in Resource Generation.

The CAD also sought data on a results warning lodged by Blumont on the Singapore Exchange on July 19 last year. Blumont had said that it was likely to report a loss for the second quarter. It attributed the projected loss to "unrealised losses arising from fair value re-adjustments of the group's investment in transferable securities as well as the provision to be made for impairment for investments and assets affected by the recent volatility and downturn in the financial market and global economy".

Earlier this month, Blumont executive chairman Neo Kim Hock and executive director James Hong Gee Ho were among 13 executives asked to provide all of their corporate data from Jan 1, 2011, to April 3. Asiasons has maintained that none of its units or directors has been asked to assist in the probe.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and CAD are investigating alleged false trading and market rigging after shares of the three penny stocks skyrocketed between 40 and 160 per cent last August and September before plunging between 91 and 96 per cent over a few days in October, erasing more than $8 billion in market value.

Less than 12 hours after announcing an agreement to take over Cokal, Blumont called off the $146 million deal on Oct 4.

In January, Blumont also shelved its acquisition of iron ore miner Hudson Mineral Holdings.

gleong@sph.com.sg

[weijian]

IIRC, daddy got threats that MACC (Msia Anti Corruption Commission) was going to investigate his dealings while he was still finance minister, so not surprising that cub got sued now.

Of course, Daddy is staunch supporter of his ex-boss, who is at logger heads with Ah-Jib kor now.

Hunting the tiger cub rather than the tiger:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/busines...shares-201

Interesting that Maybank allowed the lawsuit... maybe because Kim Eng refuse to close it?

[CityFarmer]

A precursor for a major action?

Singapore spares 'no effort' in biggest securities fraud probe

SINGAPORE (Aug 11): Singapore warned that it is sparing no effort in its largest securities-fraud probe as it seeks to shore up confidence after an $8 billion stock rout in 2013.

"We are acutely aware of the impact on investor confidence and the need to resolve this quickly and effectively," the Commercial Affairs Department said in its latest annual report. "The joint team is working tirelessly to get to the bottom of the matter."

The white-collar crime agency and the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced in April 2014 they were probing suspected stock-trading irregularities related to Asiasons Capital Ltd ( Financial Dashboard), Blumont Group ( Financial Dashboard) and LionGold Corp ( Financial Dashboard). The stocks had surged by at least 800% in the nine months before their shares plunged. That spurred brokers to clamp down on margin lending and dented trading sentiment.

The three companies have said they don't know what caused the sudden declines. Banks and brokers have sued to recover at least US$230 million ($318 million) from the stock rout.

"Together with the MAS, we are sparing no effort to bring those responsible to justice in the course of our biggest securities fraud investigation to date," the financial police said.

The joint probe "is the first of many to come."
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...raud-probe