KIMLY'S executive chairman and executive director were arrested by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) on Tuesday and later released on bail, the coffeeshop operator said.

In a filing to the Singapore Exchange on Tuesday night, Catalist-listed Kimly said: "(They were) ... arrested for having been concerned, or reasonably suspected of being involved in, an offence under Section 199 of the Securities and Futures Act."

Executive chairman Lim Hee Liat and executive director Chia Cher Khiang "continue to assist in investigations, and no formal charges have been made against them by the authorities", Kimly went on to say, adding that it would continue to update shareholders as and when there are material developments.

It had been reported previously that Singapore's white-collar crime busters were probing Kimly's initial public offering and its acquisition of drinks maker Asian Story Corp (ASC).

Kimly announced recently that it had decided to terminate its acquisition of ASC.