Indian-Origin Manager Charged In Singapore Over SGD 9.8 Million Fraud

A 59-year-old Indian-origin man was charged in a Singapore court on Friday over corruption and cheating offences involving around SGD 9.8 million while working as a construction manager for an international company.

Harish Singhal, an employee of Modec Offshore Production Systems, a global supplier of offshore floating platforms, is accused of accepting bribes, committing money laundering, and deceiving his employer into paying nearly SGD (Singapore Dollars) 8 million to another company, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

Between 2011 and 2016, Singhal allegedly conspired with four others to accept bribes for advancing the business interests of a shipping company with Modec, totalling SGD 1.3 million (USD 942,000).

He also allegedly conspired with others to disguise around USD 313,000 of benefits from criminal conduct, in the form of fictitious invoices, for payments between the two companies, the report said.

Further, he allegedly conspired with Modec's chief engineer to cheat the company into paying around SGD 8 million to a company providing marine services, it added.

Singhal faces six charges for graft and four for cheating.

His nationality was not mentioned in the report.

In a statement on Friday, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said any person convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to SGD 100,000 and jailed for up to five years. Those convicted of cheating can be fined and jailed for up to 10 years, the report added.

"Companies are strongly advised to put in place robust procedures in areas such as procurement and internal audit to prevent falling victim to corrupt acts by their employees," the CPIB said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)