Singapore court raises bail for alleged nickel trading scammer Ng Yu Zhi to S$6mil

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SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Alleged nickel trading scammer Ng Yu Zhi’s S$4 million bail was raised to $6 million on Thursday (Jan 19), and he now faces the prospect of being jailed for more than 20 years if convicted after his criminal case was transferred to the High Court.

The bail amount is a record according to some lawyers and underscores Ng’s role in one of Singapore’s biggest investment frauds.

Ng, 35, is now in remand until the full bail amount is made. He was allowed by the State Court to make three phone calls to secure bail.

Deemed the “main protagonist in a large scale fraud” in a State Court hearing on Thursday, Ng is accused of perpetrating a nickel trading scheme that allegedly cheated investors out of US$1.1 billion (S$1.45 billion).

Asking for leniency on his bail, Ng told the court: “I am currently on e-tagging, which detects any movement as soon as I step out. I have no intention to abscond at all and the information (I have) provided is to help with investigations.”

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Gordon Oh told the court on Thursday that the prospect of Ng facing a sentence that far exceeds 20 years now that his case is to be heard by the High Court, and his access to overseas assets of about S$107 million now held by various individuals in China, translates to a potential increase of flight risk.

Ng, the founder of Envy Global Trading (EGT) and Envy Asset Management (EAM), who was made a bankrupt in December 2022, had been out on bail of $4 million.

On the issue of flight risk, District Judge Terence Tay, in his oral decision on Thursday, said: “The prosecution loses the edge because factually the accused is here. But not all factors can be reviewed in same vein by flight risk alone.

That the prosecution has not provided particulars of how Ng’s assets are linked to the 105 charges is not critical, “as the main concern is whether he has sufficient assets overseas should he abscond,” the judge added.

“The court is of the view that the disclosure of substantial assets overseas and that (Ng) has access to the funds is an important factor for the court to take into account, and the fact that the monies are unaccounted for,... I agree with the prosecution in increasing bail quantum to $6 million,” the judge said.

Ng was arrested in February 2021 and first charged with cheating and fraudulent trading. He now faces 105 criminal charges, which were amended on Jan 17, for his alleged involvement in the scam.

About 1,000 investors, including business people, lawyers and financiers, sank their money into the scheme, which touted average quarterly gains of 15 per cent.

The bankruptcy order was made against Ng on Dec 22, 2022. This came after a bankruptcy application was taken out against Ng shortly after the High Court in May 2022 cleared the way for liquidators to pursue hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly transferred wrongfully into Ng’s personal accounts.

In addition to the criminal charges, Ng and three others were sued in the High Court in November 2021 by the liquidators of Envy Global Trading (EGT), Envy Asset Management (EAM) and Envy Management Holdings in a bid to recover $416.5 million and US$17.7 million from his personal assets.

Court documents state that Ng’s three companies received about $1.09 billion, US$277.1 million and €980,000 (S$1.4 million) in investor funds, supposedly for nickel trading.

Of those sums, $578.4 million, US$192.5 million and €880,000 remain outstanding.

Ng was also charged with receiving S$110.3 million in his personal bank accounts from Envy Asset Management.

Between December 2019 and February 2020, he allegedly spent US$250,000 on diamond jewellery, S$2.5 million on property - including two cars, insurance, convertible bonds and shares - and S$3.7 million on credit card bills, condominium rent, and interior design services.

He was further charged with transferring US$108,000 and S$3.4 million in his personal accounts to other parties, as well as US$6.6 million to foreign bank accounts in the UK, Vietnam, Cambodia, France and Taiwan. He had also made transfers amounting to S$9.8 million within his personal accounts.

“The bail amount is not unreasonable in view of the scale of the alleged scam, the severity of the criminal charges, and the enormous sums of monies involved. There is basis for the court to be concerned that the accused is a flight risk,” Robson Lee, partner of Kennedys Legal Solutions.