9 ex-directors, employees ordered to repay almost S$900 million to Envy companies in fraudulent nickel trading suits
In a 180-page judgement published on Tuesday (Jul 29), Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal found that ex-directors Lee Si Ye (also known as Rhiya) and Ju Xiao were jointly and severally liable for the total sum of S$593 million, US$192.2 million and 880,000 euros (S$1.3 million).
Lee is fully liable for the entire sum, while Ju is responsible for up to 40 per cent of the quantum, the judge ruled.
Lee was a former director of Envy Asset Management and Envy Management Holdings until 2021, and is still a director of Envy Global Trading. Ju was a director of Envy Global Trading until he resigned in late 2020, but he continued to be head of trading of the Envy group until May 2021.
Cheong Ming Feng, an administrative executive, has been ordered to repay S$1.9 million but is allowed to have his salary payments and corresponding Central Provident Fund contributions set off against this liability.
In another judgement also released the same day, the judicial commissioner ruled that six other former employees were liable for about S$42 million in total, with each person's payments ranging from S$370,882 to S$17.9 million.
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The six are Lau Lee Sheng, Benjamin Teo Wei Wen, Shen Xuhuai, Koh Hong Jie, Guo Yujia and Jordan Chua Wei Jian. They were employed in various capacities, including sales directors, sales associates and financial accountants, by Envy Asset Management or Envy Management Holdings.
Largest Ponzi scheme in Singapore
Between 2015 and April 2020, Envy Asset Management purportedly engaged in physical nickel trading by purchasing quantities of London Metal Exchange Nickel Grade Metal at a discounted rate, before selling the metal at a higher price to third party buyers.
After the Monetary Authority of Singapore placed Envy Asset Management on its investor alert list for being wrongly perceived as being licensed to carry out such trading, the business was transferred to Envy Global Trading, owned by Envy Management Holdings.
The largest Ponzi scheme in Singapore's history attracted about S$1.5 billion in funds from investors that included financiers and lawyers. About S$854 million is still owed to them.
Ng, the apparent protagonist and mastermind of the scheme, held at least 80 to 90 per cent of the stakes in the Envy companies, and was a director of Envy Asset Management and Envy Global Trading.
He was declared bankrupt in 2022 after he was ordered by the court to repay about S$416.4 million and US$17.6 million over his alleged acts.
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