Autobahn Rent A Car had announced on Jan 6 it had suspended its operations “due to operational constraints and insurance cancellation”. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: The two shareholders of Autobahn Rent A Car, whose group of companies owe creditors over S$300 million, have been charged in court over allegations that they forged documents purportedly from Komoco Motors.
On Friday (Jan 30), Tan Boon Kee and Sanjay Kumar Rai, both 49, were each handed one charge of abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating.
The pair, who are also the directors of the vehicle leasing group, are said to have instructed a staff member to fraudulently make a false “Official Receipt” dated Nov 6, 2025, bearing the letterhead of Komoco Motors.
The document falsely stated that Komoco Motors had sold and received full payment from Hamilton Autohub for 10 Hyundai Kona Hybrid vehicles.
Komoco is the distributor of Hyundai cars, and Hamilton Autohub is one of the companies where Tan and Sanjay are directors and shareholders.
According to the court documents, the two directors allegedly forged the document with the intention of passing it off as a genuine receipt from Komoco Motors.
Tan and Sanjay, who are currently remanded, had appeared in court via video-link in handcuffs. They are represented by lawyer Clarence Lun of Fervent Chambers.
District Judge Brenda Tan granted a police prosecutor’s application for them to be remanded for one more week. Their next court mention will be on Feb 6.
Autobahn Rent A Car, which runs car-sharing service Shariot, announced on Jan 6 it had suspended its operations “due to operational constraints and insurance cancellation”.
Shariot and 17 related firms, including Autobahn Rent A Car, had applied to the High Court in December 2025 for a six-month moratorium to halt creditor actions, including the repossession of assets, while they work out a proposed scheme of arrangement.
Collectively, Autobahn and its group of related companies have 1,700 vehicles, mainly rented out for ride-hailing services.
According to documents, the companies collectively owe $305.9 million to various financial institutions, businesses and government agencies.
Among them, DBS Bank is owed $103 million, UOB $17 million and OCBC Bank $12.5 million. The debt relates to hire-purchase agreements, business loans, mortgages and fees.
The High Court on Dec 26, 2025 dismissed the company’s application for temporary protection from creditors.
Autobahn Rent A Car had planned to appeal for protection against creditors’ recovery action but it was dropped in January.
The firm subsequently notified its creditors about the withdrawal of the appeal.
This is a developing story. - The Straits Times/ANN
