OK Lim, founder of Singapore oil trading firm, Hin Leong, convicted in US$112 million HSBC cheating case

Lim Oon Kuin, founder of collapsed oil firm Hin Leong Trading Pte., has been convicted of three criminal charges after a lengthy trial in Singapore, the Business Times reported.

The former tycoon – popularly known as OK Lim – faced charges of cheating HSBC Holdings Plc and instigating a Hin Leong employee to forge documents, according to the newspaper report. The charges involved a total of US$111.7 million, it said, citing a judgment delivered by the State Courts on Friday.

Lim, along with his two children and former personal assistant Serene Seng, is also facing a civil suit in the High Court, where liquidators and creditors are suing them for US$3.5 billion, the report said. His lenders include HSBC and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. The trial is ongoing.

The fall of Hin Leong rocked Singapore’s close-knit community of oil traders and financiers in 2020, following a series of scandals involving deep losses by Chinese and Japanese traders, the collapse of Noble Group Ltd. and the implosion of Agritrade International Pte. At its peak, Hin Leong was one of Asia’s biggest suppliers of diesel and shipping fuel.

Lim has been slapped with 130 criminal charges of forgery and cheating, with prosecutors proceeding to trial on three of them, the report said. Singapore’s police said Friday he faced imprisonment of up to 10 years for each of the charges.

The 82-year-old businessman is expected to be sentenced on October 3. A bail of US$4 million has been extended until then.