Two people have been convicted in Singapore over their involvement in one of the city-state’s largest stock scams, according to police and the central bank.
Singaporean Quah Su-Ling and Malaysian John Soh Chee Wen were found guilty of more 100 offences each, including market manipulation and cheating.
For almost a decade, Singapore authorities have been investigating suspected trading irregularities tied to a small-cap crash in late 2013 that wiped out about S$8 billion ($5.8 billion) from the value of three companies within the space of a few days.
Masterminds Behind Scam
Quah and Soh were the masterminds behind an elaborate stock scam to artificially inflate the value of shares of Blumont Group, Asiasons Capital and LionGold, police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said.
The stock scam, which saw those stocks surge multiple times in the months before they slumped, battered investor confidence and led to a series of reforms to the city-state’s stock trading rules.
During investigations, Singapore authorities raided more than 50 locations and interviewed at least 70 people, examining evidence comprising of more than 2 million emails, 500,000 trade orders, and thousands of telephone records and financial statements.
The Singapore High Court, which heard the case, will sentence Soh and Quah at a later date.
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell
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