Hin Leong’s Lim family and BP sued for US$313mil by Bank of China

SINGAPORE: Bank of China has sued BP in Singapore, and Hin Leong Trading founder Lim Oon Kuin and his two children, for a total of US$312.9mil (S$417.6mil) in the latest effort by a creditor to recover losses after one of the biggest trading scandals in decades.

The Chinese bank requested that BP repay US$125.7mil that it withdrew from the lender earlier this year based on sales of gas oil cargoes to Hin Leong, according to documents provided by the Supreme Court of Singapore. The deals were part of a “fictitious purchase scheme conspiracy” to maintain Hin Leong’s liquidity since no real transactions took place, the bank said.