Cutting the cord?: Events leading up to and after Cordlife’s MOH suspension and arrests of its directors, ex-group CEO

AMID ongoing investigations into its processes and a shareholder dispute, troubled private cord-blood bank Cordlife Group was thrust back into the spotlight after the arrests of four directors and its former group chief executive officer on Mar 22, 2024.

The Business Times traces the timeline of events leading to these arrests, which are related to alleged breaches-of-disclosure obligations. These disclosures relate to irregular temperatures in its storage tanks, which led to a six-month suspension notice from the Ministry of Health (MOH) in November 2023.

November 2020 to November 2023: Movements in the dark – lapses in Cordlife’s storage units, but the public is not informed

November 2020 to Nov 30, 2023: Cordlife’s cryopreserved cord-blood units in seven of 22 storage tanks are exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits at different periods.