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Singapore minister, tycoon arrested in rare high-level graft probe


Billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng attends a news conference in Singapore

Updated Fri, July 14, 2023

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -A Singapore government minister and a property tycoon were arrested this week, the anti-graft body said on Friday, without giving details of what prompted the rare high-level probe that has gripped the city state.

Transport Minister S. Iswaran and managing director of Hotel Properties Ong Beng Seng were arrested on Tuesday and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in an emailed response to a Reuters query.

The CPIB said on Wednesday that it had launched an investigation into Iswaran.

The case is rare in Singapore, a top Asian financial hub that prides itself on a corruption-free government. Cabinet ministers are paid handsomely to discourage graft, with some ministers' annual salaries exceeding S$1 million ($758,000).

Ong is known for bringing Formula One races to the city-state and his company said he is cooperating with the anti-graft agency.

Iswaran's passport has been impounded, but the CPIB allowed Ong to travel out of Singapore on Friday.

"CPIB assessed and acceded to Ong’s request to travel overseas. Ong’s bail quantum was also increased to S$100,000. Upon his return, Ong is required to report to CPIB and surrender his passport to the bureau," said the anti-graft body.

The Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Ltd said in a statement no charges had been filed against Ong, adding that he was asked by the CPIB to provide information on his interactions with the transport minister.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday said he had instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigations are completed.

The Prime Minister's Office said on Thursday that Iswaran was not allowed to leave Singapore during the investigation and he would have no access to any official resources or government buildings, local media reported.

The 79-year-old Ong's company has around 38 hotels and resorts operating under brands that include COMO, Four Seasons, Hard Rock Hotels and Concorde, according to the London Stock Exchange's Refinitiv Eikon.

Shares in Hotel Properties Ltd fell as much as 7% on the news and were last down 4.4%, heading for their worst session in more than two years.

Malaysia-born Ong and his wife, Christina, had a net worth of $1.75 billion in 2022, according to Forbes.

(Reporting by Reuters staff and Xinghui Kok; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Martin Petty, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)

Singapore Arrests Minister, Property Tycoon in Graft Probe

Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Faris Mokhtar and Philip J. Heijmans
Fri, July 14, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore said it arrested Transport Minister S. Iswaran and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng earlier this week in a graft probe that has challenged the city-state’s reputation for clean governance.

Both were arrested on July 11 and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement late Friday in response to queries by Bloomberg News. Their passports were impounded, but Ong was allowed to travel overseas on Friday after a request was approved.

The probe came to light earlier this week when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ordered Iswaran to go on leave. Billionaire Ong, the managing director of Hotel Properties Ltd., was asked to provide information on his interactions with Iswaran, according to a company statement to the Singapore stock exchange Friday.

While officials have yet to spell out the scope of their investigation, it’s the first time since 1986 that a Singapore graft probe has involved a senior minister. It comes at a particularly tricky time for the ruling People’s Action Party, which has long championed its corruption-free image. The party has faced a series of controversies in recent months as it navigates a leadership transition and voter unhappiness over rising living costs.

“When it comes to corruption, I think it’s a mother of all issues,” said Bilveer Singh, deputy head of the department of political science at the National University of Singapore. “The pressure on the prime minister to act and get to the bottom of it is so strong.”

Singapore is preparing for a presidential election to be held by September, allowing its citizens to vote on a largely ceremonial role. A general election must be held by 2025. The ruling party, which has been in power since Singapore’s independence in 1965, is also laying the ground work for a new generation of leaders to take over. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is being primed to succeed Lee, who has been premier since 2004.

“We will be upfront and transparent,” Wong said in a Facebook post earlier this week. “We will not sweep anything under the carpet, even if they are potentially embarrassing or damaging.”

Iswaran and Ong would have interacted over the years as a matter of course, with the minister’s roles in trade and transport intersecting with the property tycoon known for helping bring the Formula One Grand Prix to Singapore. Iswaran, 61, has long championed the Singapore F1 night race in his various capacities.

The corruption agency, which reports directly to the prime minister, hasn’t specified what wrongdoing was involved. No charges have been filed, though Iswaran has been barred access to official resources and government buildings.

The country’s senior public officials are among the world’s best paid, a strategy Singapore’s political leaders say has helped to stave off corruption. Ministers earn about S$1.1 million ($822,000) a year, according to the Public Service Division’s website. The city-state is ranked as the fifth-least corrupt country in the world, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

Ong is cooperating with the CPIB and posted bail of S$100,000 ($76,000), his company said Friday. He was to travel from Friday and will surrender his passport to CPIB when he returns to Singapore, according to the statement, which didn’t specify his exact whereabouts. Shares of Hotel Properties slumped as much as 7%, the largest intraday drop since March 2020, before closing 2.6% lower.

Subjects on bail can make requests to travel overseas, the CPIB said Friday.

“CPIB will assess such requests on a case-by-case basis,” it said. “CPIB assessed and acceded to Ong’s request to travel overseas” while his bail quantum was increased, the agency said.

Ong, the media-shy Malaysia-born businessman, was instrumental in bringing the Formula One Grand Prix to Singapore and is a key player in some of the island’s most significant corporate moments. Last year, a consortium led by Ong and units of state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte won a bidding war to buy the property assets of the city’s main publisher. In 2003, Ong and tycoon Oei Hong Leong were engaged in a tussle over steel-miller NatSteel Ltd.

Ong is worth about $1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index.

This isn’t the first time Ong has been entangled in controversies surrounding politicians from Singapore’s ruling party. In 1996, Prime Minister Lee, then a deputy prime minister, and his father Lee Kuan Yew, were cleared in an inquiry over claims of impropriety related to discounted purchases of four high-end apartments developed by Hotel Properties.

Ong’s business has a portfolio of nearly 40 hotels and resorts across 15 countries including the Four Seasons in Singapore and the Maldives, according to its website. It also builds luxury condominiums and owns malls.

Iswaran will remain in Singapore during his leave, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The long-time PAP stalwart was elected as a member of parliament in 1997 and was appointed to the cabinet in 2006. As transport minister, his key focus is to rebuild Singapore as an air hub in the aftermath of the pandemic and boost the nation as a maritime center. He’s also Singapore’s minister-in-charge of trade relations.

--With assistance from Natalie Choy, Ishika Mookerjee, Philip J. Heijmans, Ranjeetha Pakiam, Joyce Koh, Low De Wei and Shamim Adam.

 Bloomberg Businessweek


Who is Ong Beng Seng, a billionaire tycoon involved in Singapore's graft probe?

One of Singapore's richest men, Ong Beng Seng has been served with a notice of arrest by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).


Sandy Pramuji
·Contributor
Fri, July 14, 2023 

Billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng at a news conference in Singapore on 11 May 2007. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Vivek Prakash)

SINGAPORE — One of Singapore's richest men, Ong Beng Seng, has been served with a notice of arrest by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

The billionaire hotelier, who is also reported to have played a key role in bringing the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix into the city-state in 2007, is allegedly linked to the corruption probe involving Transport Minister S. Iswaran.

Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), of which Ong is a co-founder and managing director, said on Friday (14 July) that no charges have been filed and the 77-year-old has posted bail of S$100,000. Ong, HPL said, will be traveling from 14 July and will be surrendering his passport to CIPB upon his return to Singapore.
Who is Ong Beng Seng?

Ong Beng Seng was born in 1946 in Teluk Anson, Sabah, Malaysia. Popularly known by his initials OBS, the hotel and property tycoon – together with his his Singaporean wife, Christina Ong – ranked 24th in the 2022 Forbes Singapore's 50 Richest list with an estimated net worth of US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion).

Born into a rich family, according to Singapore Infopedia, Ong moved to Singapore in 1950. He then studied in the UK and earned a degree in insurance. He earned his fortune then by selling shipping insurance.

Ong married Christina Fu in 1972 and then joined Kuo International, an oil grading company owned by his father-in-law Peter Fu Yun Siak, in 1975. He's known for his accurate predictions of the ups and downs of oil prices and that helped him earned enough money to finance his foray into the hospitality business.

What are Ong's business dealings?

Ong formed Hotel Properties Limited in 1980 to lead Kuo International's acquisition of the Hilton hotel brand. Two years later, HPL was listed in Singapore, and Ong's property, hotel, retail and lifestye conglomerate truly began.

As of today, HPL reportedly holds a portfolio of 38 hotels and resorts across 15 countries. The company runs the Hard Rock Hotel brand name in Bali, Pattaya and Penang. It also runs Hard Rock Cafe outlets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

HPL also owns and operates hotels under the brands of Four Seasons, COMO Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Six Senses, Marriott International and Concorde, as well as malls that include the Forum The Shopping Mall in Singapore.

Como Hotels & Resorts, retail empire Club 21 and London-listed handbag maker Mulberry.

Christina Ong runs retail empire Club 21 and London-listed handbag maker Mulberry.

Last May, HPL, in partnership with units of Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek, also bought the real estate assets of Singapore Press Holdings for US$2.8 billion.

Did he bring F1 to Singapore?

Ong Beng Seng of Singapore GP speaks with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in the pit lane ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on 19 September 2013 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty)

Yes, he did. After a year of negotiation, and helped by his friendship with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Ong – as the man behind Singapore GP – clinched the deal to bring the F1 race to Singapore. The event, held on the Marina Bay street circuit, became the first night race in F1 history.

The race has been held annually in Singapore except for a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned last October with a new deal signed for Singapore to host the night race for another seven years through 2028.
Are there other scandals that involved Ong?

Before the current notice of arrest, Ong's name had been mentioned in two incidents involving top politicians.

In 1996, Ong's company sold four luxury condominium units to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The units, part of the Nassim Jade and Scotts 28 condominiums, were allegedly sold at special discounts.

However, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong cleared the Lees and Ong of any wrongdoing.

Then in 2018, there was allegations of corruption involving Ong in the leasing of two islands in the Maldives that was reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

HPL, the report said, was involved in a scheme by then-Maldives president Abdulla Yameen to sidestep Maldivian laws to lease out dozens of Maldives islands and lagoons to tourism developers without public tender.