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SINGAPORE: Jeffrey Ong Su Aun, the former managing partner of JLC Advisors LLP who disappeared after allegedly embezzling millions from an engineering firm, has been charged with 19 more counts of breach of trust and cheating, a police press release said. on Tuesday (October 20).
The charges comprise 14 counts of criminal breach of trust as an attorney and five counts of conspiracy to cheat involving more than S $ 17.4 million, police said.
With the additional charges, Ong now faces a total of 76 counts of criminal cheating, forgery and breach of trust as a lawyer involving a total sum of more than S $ 75 million.
LEE: Singapore lawyer linked to S $ 33 million disappearance was arrested at KL hotel: Malaysian police
The new set of charges stemmed from investigations conducted by the Department of Business Affairs at a JLC Advisors escrow facility for CW Group Holdings, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“The 14 criminal charges for breach of trust are related to embezzlement of money in the amount of S $ 17,477,285.07 from said escrow facility,” police said.
“The five counts of conspiracy to cheat were aimed at concealing the misappropriation of funds from the CW Group board of directors, as well as the auditor of the CW Group’s Singapore subsidiaries, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP.”
FIRST CHARGE IN FEBRUARY
Ong was first indicted for the millions missing in February, when he received 11 counts of embezzlement of S $ 33.8 million between October 2017 and August 2018.
The money belonged to the engineering firm Allied Technologies and was held in escrow, where the funds are held by a law firm while two or more parties complete a transaction.
Ong then fled the country but was arrested in Malaysia with the help of the Royal Malaysian Police in May last year.
This was after Allied Tech filed a police report on an unauthorized payment of S $ 33 million from their escrow account.
After his arrest in Malaysia, Ong was returned to Singapore.
Investigations against Ong are ongoing.
THE 76 POSITIONS FACING THE NGO AS OF OCTOBER 20, 2020:
(a) 1 charge under Section 420 of the Penal Code for misleading CCJ Investment Limited into disbursing a loan of S $ 6 million
(b) 8 counts under Section 468 of the Penal Code for falsifying documents to mislead CCJ Investment Limited into disbursing the S $ 6 million loan;
(c) 1 charge under Section 409 of the Penal Code for embezzlement of US $ 4,851,289.15 from an escrow account between Airtrust (Singapore) Pte Limited (“Airtrust”) and Wrangwell Limited (“Wrangwell”) , while serving as an attorney for JLC Advisors;
(d) 16 counts under Section 468 of the Penal Code for falsifying account statements of the escrow account between Airtrust and Wrangwell for the purpose of cheating;
(e) 8 counts under Section 409 of the Penal Code for the misappropriation of S $ 21,554,609.12 of the proceeds of the placement of shares for Allied Technologies Limited (“Allied Technologies”) while acting as attorney for JLC Advisors;
(f) 3 charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code for the embezzlement of S $ 12,285,065.85, the balance being the result of the sale of Allied Technologies’ subsidiary, Allied Machineries (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., while acting as JLC’s attorney Advisors;
(g) 14 counts under Section 417 of the Penal Code for the issuance of false escrow notices between November 3, 2017 and January 22, 2019 to the Board of Directors of Allied Technologies;
(h) 1 charge under Section 467 of the Penal Code for forging the signature of a JLC Advisors partner on a check for S $ 33,153,416.56, which was issued to Allied Technologies;
(i) 4 counts under Section 409 of the Penal Code for embezzlement of S $ 11,700,020 of escrow funds withheld for Allied Technologies, while acting as attorney for JLC Advisors;
(j) 1 count under Section 409 of the Penal Code for the misappropriation of S $ 250,000 belonging to a client of JLC Advisors, while acting as attorney for JLC Advisors;
(k) 11 counts of Section 409 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code for the misappropriation of S $ 17,212,344.67 from the escrow account of CW Group while acting as attorney for JLC Advisors;
(l) 3 Penal Code Section 409 charges for misappropriating S $ 264,940.40 from CW Group’s escrow account while acting as attorney for JLC Advisors;
(m) 1 charge under Section 417 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code for participating in a conspiracy to mislead the CW Group Board of Directors into failing to investigate the missing money in the CW Group escrow account; Y
(n) 4 counts under Section 417 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code for participating in a conspiracy to mislead Ernst & Young Solutions LLP into issuing a clean opinion on its audit of the Singapore-based CW Group subsidiaries.
