Ex-Sembcorp Marine CEO Wong Weng Sun acquitted of charges in Brazil corruption case

[SINGAPORE] Former Sembcorp Marine president and CEO Wong Weng Sun and former Jurong Shipyard senior general manager Lee Fook Kang have been acquitted of all charges against them over alleged corruption linked to Sembcorp Marine’s Brazil business, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said.

The acquittals came after prosecutors decided to issue both men stern warnings in lieu of prosecution, following a review that took into account the dismissal of related criminal proceedings in Brazil against Guilherme Esteves de Jesus, the Brazilian agent at the centre of the alleged bribery arrangements.

The State Courts granted both men discharges amounting to acquittals on Thursday (Sep 24), following applications by the prosecution.

The stern warnings covering all charges against Wong and Lee had been administered by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on Sep 21.

Why prosecutors dropped the charges

An AGC spokesperson said prosecutors reached the decision after considering the facts and circumstances of the matter, including the dismissal of the criminal proceedings against Esteves.

Wong had faced five charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and one charge of intentionally obstructing the course of justice under the Penal Code since March 2024. Lee faced five corruption charges arising from the same case.

WongPartnership, the law firm representing Wong, said on Thursday: “To the best of his knowledge, there are no further court proceedings pending against Mr Wong.”

The firm added that Wong, who spent more than 30 years with Sembcorp Marine and rose from project engineer to president and CEO, had consistently denied involvement in criminal wrongdoing.

The charges arose from investigations by CPIB into alleged corruption linked to Sembcorp Marine’s Brazil business and the sprawling Operation Car Wash probe.

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What is Operation Car Wash, and how is it related to Seatrium?

The agency began investigating Sembcorp Marine – now known as Seatrium – and individuals from the company in May 2023. Wong and Lee were charged in March 2024.

At the time, Wong was accused of conspiring with Lee to corruptly give gratification to Esteves, then an agent in Brazil, for the benefit of various people in Brazil and to advance the business interests of the company’s subsidiaries there.

The five charges involved alleged payments made or agreed upon between 2009 and 2014, including payments intended for Brazilian officials, politicians and officers of state-controlled oil company Petrobras.

Wong was also accused of instructing two employees in 2014 to remove an e-mail from Esteves containing evidence of bribes that he had given or would be giving to others.

When Wong and Lee were charged, the AGC said it had considered the available evidence and assessed that there was sufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.

Separate action against Seatrium

The criminal proceedings against Wong and Lee were separate from the action taken against Seatrium itself over the Brazil matter.

Seatrium entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the public prosecutor in July 2025 over corruption offences that occurred in Brazil. Under the agreement, the company is required to pay a US$110 million financial penalty and make further improvements to its ethics and compliance programme.

The High Court approved the agreement in April this year. Up to US$53 million of payments made by Seatrium to the Brazilian authorities can be credited against the penalty, leaving US$57 million payable to the Singapore authorities.

The case has its roots in Operation Car Wash, the wide-ranging Brazilian investigation into corruption involving Petrobras, contractors and political figures.

Sembcorp Marine combined with Keppel Offshore & Marine in 2023, forming the enlarged company subsequently renamed Seatrium.

Wong thanked his family and friends for their support throughout what his lawyers described as an “incredibly stressful period”, as well as his legal team comprising senior counsel Tan Chee Meng, Paul Loy, Samuel Navindran and Calvin Ong of WongPartnership.

He “looks forward to moving on and putting this episode behind him”, the firm said.

Lee was represented by Hamidul Haq of Haq Associates, together with lawyers from Rajah & Tann.