Trial continues on 42 charges against Ng Yu Zhi

The prosecution is pressing ahead with 42 of a total of 105 charges filed in the High Court against Ng Yu Zhi, an alleged nickel-trading fraudster who was at the center of a $1.1 billion fraud.

The 37-year-old defendant will be tried on 42 charges in the trial, which started on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 26 and is planned to last more than 50 days in various periods.

The charges involved are two counts of fraudulent dealing, 10 counts of cheating, 15 counts of forgery, one count of criminal breach of trust and 14 counts of conversion, transfer or removal of benefits derived from criminal conduct (or simply money laundering).

Among the ongoing accusations, Ng is accused of defrauding Vickers Venture Partners founder Finian Tan of US$19.2 million between October 2020 and January 2021.

He was among about 1,000 investors, including businessmen and lawyers, who put money into the scheme, which promised an average return of 15 percent in three months.

The rest of Ng’s 105 charges have been stayed for now.

IT in your inbox

Start and end each day with the latest news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox.

Ng, whose S$6 million bail was canceled in February 2024, remained in custody. She appeared at the Supreme Court on Tuesday wearing her signature ponytail and mauve prison garb.

He is represented by a team of lawyers from four different law firms, including lead counsel Hassan Esa Almenoar.

He was represented by Davinder Singh Chambers when he was first charged in March 2021.

In 2023, Ng was represented by Dentons Rodyk & Davidson when his bail amount was increased from S$4 million to S$6 million. Neither of them represent him anymore.

This slot of hearings is scheduled through Friday, before court recess begins next week.

Ng has three other charges that are not directly related to the alleged fraud. He was said to have committed the forgery and money laundering charges while trying to sell a property allegedly purchased with the proceeds of crime.

A bankruptcy judgment was entered against Ng on December 22, 2022, upon the application of the liquidators of Envy Global Trading and Envy Asset Management. It was necessary to recover approximately S$440.4 million from Ng’s personal assets, as the liquidators claimed the funds were incorrectly transferred to Ng’s personal accounts.