Former S'pore oil tycoon OK Lim & 2 children declared bankrupt after court order to repay over S$4.5 billion

The bankruptcy order was published on Dec. 27.

Natalie Ong

December 28, 2024, 02:27 PM

Former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, 82, has been declared bankrupt along with his two children, according to a government gazette published on Dec. 27, 2024.

The bankruptcy order was made against the 82-year-old and his two of his three children — Lim Huey Ching, 57, and Lim Chee Meng, 54 — on Dec. 5.

It took effect on Dec. 19.

After getting sued by Hin Leong's liquidators, the trio had a judgment of US$3.5 billion (S$4.75 billion) entered against them in September.

They said they would be filing for bankruptcy as they do not have enough assets to pay for the claims, reported CNA.

Once their assets are sold, the proceeds will enter into a bankruptcy estate, which will be managed by trustees Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin from BDO Advisory.

Background

Lim, who is also known as OK Lim, founded Hin Leong Trading in 1963 at a young age of 20.

He grew the business to become one of Singapore's largest independent oil traders.

As his business and family grew, Lim's son, Lim Chee Meng, ran Hin Leong's shipping arm Ocean Tankers, which had a fleet of more than 130 tankers.

The elder Lim's daughter, Lim Huey Ching, served as the executive director while Hin Leong was operational.

Hin Leong's growth placed the elder Lim as Singapore's 18th richest with a net worth of US$1.65 billion (S$2.35 billion) in 2019, according to Forbes.

The family's downfall

However, things took a turn for the worse when Lim admitted to directing his company to hide losses of S$1.14 billion over several years by deliberately manipulating accounts, and overstating Hin Leong's profitability.

Hin Leong filed for bankruptcy in April 2020.

In addition, Lim had previously directed staff to prepare falsified documents, such as fake invoices and forged contracts, in order for Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) to lend Hin Leong S$150 million to complete the transactions in March 2020.

In a bid to recoup funds to pay his debts, Lim's personal assets in Singapore and Australia were frozen by the High Court.

Cumulatively, Lim faced more than 105 charges of cheating and forgery in June 2021, reported ST.

He was ultimately convicted of two charges of cheating and one count of abetting forgery.

For those convictions, Lim was sentenced to 17.5 years' jail in November 2024. He is appealing against the decision.