Acra suspends Registered Qualified Individual R Shanmugaratam for filing false information

THE Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) has suspended the registration of Registered Qualified Individual (RQI) of former director of accounting firm Citadelle Corporate Services R Shanmugaratam for 12 months, for providing false information in an annual return filed with Acra.

An RQI provides corporate secretarial services for business entities and transacts with Acra on behalf of clients. Shanmugaratam's suspension period will be from Dec 11, 2021 to Dec 10, 2022, said Acra in a in a press statement on Tuesday (Dec 14).

Separately, Shanmugaratam is also facing charges for allegedly falsifying letters to Wirecard entities, Cardsystems Middle East and Wirecard UK & Ireland, stating bogus balances held in his company's accounts.

Acra said that it had investigated Shanmugaratam in connection with the annual return filed for YO54 Holdings on Feb 27, 2018.

In the annual return, Shanmugaratam declared that he had verified with the director of YO54 that the company qualified as a small and dormant company under the Companies Act for year of assessment in 2017, according to Acra.

However, investigations revealed that Shanmugaratam had in fact not verified this with the director.

RQIs have a duty to help clients to file annual returns and/or fulfil the requirements under the Companies Act or other Acts under Acra's purview. They should also ensure that filings with Acra are carried out according to instructions from their clients, and that the filings are true and accurate.

RQIs found to have breached their obligations could face financial penalties of up to S$10,000 per breach and/or have their registration suspended or cancelled. The names of RQIs whose registration have been suspended or cancelled are published on the Acra website and BizFile+, the Acra online business filing and information portal.