The founder of the now-defunct Singapore oil trading company Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, will be sentenced on Monday for defrauding banking giant HSBC out of millions of dollars in one of the most significant fraud cases in the country’s history.
Lim, also known as O.K. Lim, was convicted in May for his role in the scandal, which severely impacted Singapore’s reputation as a leading oil trading hub in Asia. His company, once one of Asia’s largest oil traders, collapsed abruptly in 2020.
The sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 pm (0630 GMT) on Monday, with State Courts Judge Toh Han Li overseeing the proceedings. Prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison term for the 80-year-old businessman, describing the case as “one of the most serious instances of trade financing fraud ever prosecuted in Singapore.”
In contrast, the defense has requested a seven-year sentence, citing Lim’s age and poor health while downplaying the extent of harm caused by his crimes.
Lim faced 130 criminal charges related to hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent activities. However, prosecutors focused on just three charges—two related to cheating HSBC and a third for encouraging a Hin Leong executive to forge documents.
According to the prosecution, Lim misled HSBC into disbursing nearly $112 million by falsely claiming that Hin Leong had entered into oil sales contracts with two companies. These transactions, prosecutors said, were entirely fabricated at Lim’s direction. His actions, they added, “tarnished Singapore’s hard-earned reputation as Asia’s leading oil trading hub.”
