Indonesian tycoon Kris Wiluan fined S$480,000 for market rigging

INDONESIAN tycoon Kris Wiluan was fined S$480,000 by the State Courts on Wednesday, upon his conviction on three counts of market rigging involving the shares of Singapore-listed oil-services firm KS Energy, the now-collapsed firm he led for decades.

The 72-year old Singapore permanent resident and founder of Indonesian conglomerate Citramas Group, who pleaded guilty, was fined S$160,000 for each charge by District Judge Marvin Bay.

Earlier, in applying for three other similar charges to be taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kevin Yong submitted that while a custodial sentence was not necessary, a high fine would be needed for general deterrence and to reflect Wiluan's culpability as the mastermind of the market-rigging offences.

These charges represent an amalgamation of all 112 charges that prosecutors laid before Wiluan last August; the offences were related to the violation of Section 197 of the Securities and Futures Act, which covers false trading and market-rigging transactions.

The offences were committed on various occasions between December 2014 and September 2016 to push up KS Energy's share price. Wiluan's lawyers, Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim and Mahesh Rai of Drew & Napier, submitted that he had engaged in a "price support operation" as certain investors were dumping KS Energy shares and that he believed in the value of those shares.

On Wednesday, Singapore prosecutors sought a global fine of at least S$600,000, comprising a fine of at least S$200,000 on each of the three charges. "This sentence would sufficiently reflect the court's disapprobation for market-rigging offences and serves to deter others who seek to manipulate our securities markets for their own ends," DPP Yong submitted.

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In a mitigation plea, Wiluan's lawyers sought the court's judicial mercy and compassion as the accused was of advanced age and had health issues. A custodial sentence would have a debilitating and disproportionate effect on him, they said.

They also vouched for his character and clean record, and cited his contributions to the Singapore and Indonesian economies through his businesses and charitable causes.

As the accused has fully cooperated with the authorities and his early plea of guilt indicated true remorse and contrition, they argued that Wiluan should not be punished with a more severe fine than other more egregious offenders.

Wiluan was ranked Indonesia's 40th richest man by Forbes 2009, with a personal net worth of US$240 million. KS Energy and a key operating subsidiary, KS Drilling, were placed under judicial management last October following an application by OCBC, which is seeking to recover a US$235 million debt owed to it.

Last week, in an announcement on the Singapore Exchange, KS Energy's judicial managers Andrew Grimmett and Lim Loo Khoon of Deloitte & Touche said the judicial management orders have been extended for another six months to October this year.

This is the second high-profile case involving a billionaire in Singapore's huge and bustling oil-and-gas sector since the pandemic decimated energy demand and sparked a historic oil crash last year.

Earlier this month, Singapore prosecutors charged tycoon Lim Oon Kuin of the Hin Leong empire with 23 counts of forgery-related offences. Hin Leong Trading, once Asia's largest oil trader, is being wound up; several other assets under the sprawling group are under court-supervised restructuring after the group buckled under huge debts following the oil slump.