CPIB hauls Multi-Chem CEO, COO in for questioning; stock hits ‘circuit breaker’

[SINGAPORE] Mainboard-listed IT distribution company Multi-Chem announced on Thursday (Sep 17) that its CEO, chief operating officer (COO) and two senior employees have been interviewed by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Multi-Chem shares plummeted right at market open, plunging more than 40 per cent in morning trade, or S$1.84 to S$2.50. The sharp drop triggered the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) “circuit-breaker” mechanism, which enforces a 10 per cent price band and a five-minute cooling-off period when a security experiences sudden volatility.

In a regulatory filing to SGX, the company’s audit and risk-management committee (ARMC) disclosed that CEO Foo Suan Sai and COO Han Juat Hoon were interviewed by the anti-graft agency.

Both executive directors were asked to provide bail and hand over their passports and mobile phones to CPIB.

The company’s ARMC, comprising the group’s independent directors, was informed of the situation by Han. In its statement on the development, the committee clarified that it is not directly privy to the ongoing matter before CPIB.

Two senior sales employees of the group were also questioned by CPIB. The committee said it does not currently know if these employees were similarly required to surrender their passports or mobile devices.

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As part of the ongoing probe, CPIB officers visited the group’s premises and seized several documents.

These include certain financial accounts of the group dating from an earlier year to the present, employee-claim documents relating to group personnel and an individual from a vendor, and an agreement relating to the same vendor.

“The ARMC is currently seeking further information from the executive directors relating to the interviews, substance of the investigations, and other actions taken by the CPIB,” said committee member Steven Chong on behalf of ARMC.