SINGAPORE: The High Court has ordered the private trustees handling the bankruptcy estate of alleged fraudster Ng Yu Zhi to accept a creditor’s claim for S$12 million, which was previously rejected.
The claim was filed by Veronica Shim Wai Han, former chief executive of Envysion Wealth Management (EWM), who alleged that Ng misled her into investing in his Envy companies with fraudulent representations.
Shim, 51, had appealed to the High Court after her proof of debt – a document filed by creditors to make a formal claim against a bankrupt debtor – was rejected by trustees Lai Seng Kwoon and Adrian Chan.
Ng, 37, is accused of masterminding a scam which attracted $1.46 billion from 947 investors, including prominent financiers and lawyers.
He allegedly told investors he could buy nickel at a discount from a mining company and then sell the metal for sizeable profits.
Prosecutors say no nickel was actually traded.
The scheme was offered between 2016 and 2021, first through Envy Asset Management and then Envy Global Trading.
EWM, a licensed fund manager, managed a variable capital company which established a fund that was invested in Envy’s business.
Ng is currently on trial facing 42 criminal charges of fraudulent trading, cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. He was declared bankrupt in December 2022.
The liquidators of the Envy companies have brought their own claims against Ng, which include claims on behalf of defrauded investors.
The trustees rejected Shim’s proof of debt on grounds that the claim should be made against the Envy companies and that her claim is subsumed under the claim brought on behalf of defrauded investors.
At the appeal hearing, the trustees, represented by Moses Lin, argued that they are in no position to adjudicate Shim’s factually and legally complex claim.
But Shim, represented by Wendy Lin, contended that this was not a basis for a claim to be rejected.
The trustees also argued that, in the interests of orderly administration, all claims arising from contracts between the investors and the Envy companies should be dealt with within the liquidation, and not Ng’s estate.
They argued that none of the defrauded investors should be allowed to make double recovery, from both Ng’s estate and the liquidations, as that would allow them to steal a march on other investors.
They added that dealing with the double claims would cause a delay and reduce the pool of assets to be distributed.
In a written judgment on Tuesday (May 13), Justice Philip Jeyaretnam said the complexity of a claim is not, in itself, a reason to reject a proof of debt.
The existence of an overlapping claim against a different insolvent estate is also not a ground for rejection, he said.
The judge said that instead of preventing proofs of debt from being admitted, the proofs of debt should be admitted first, with the actual amounts to be paid out adjusted later, to ensure there is no double recovery.
Separately, Shim faces five charges, including two counts for breaching regulations under the Securities and Futures Act and two counts under the Official Secrets Act for forwarding e-mail correspondence between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and EWM to Ng. - The Straits Times/ANN
