SINGAPORE: Former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, better known as OK Lim, and his two children have consented to a judgment of US$ 3.5 billion ( US$ 4.5 billion ) being entered against them.
In addition, 82-year-old Lim and his two children, Lim Huey Ching and Evan Lim Chee Meng, announced in statements on Monday ( Sep 30 ) that they will file for bankruptcy because they do not have enough assets to pay all of their claimants.
Any usable amounts will likely be made up of goods that have been reclaimed by the Insolvency &, Public Trustee’s Office, despite the trustees of Fine Lim’s former oil firm Hin Leong Buying having received a assessment for the US$ 3.5 billion owed.
The court’s determination came at the start of a civil trial in August of 2023, which was being brought by the Lim family’s brokers. The acceptance view replaced that and brought the prosecution trials to a close, though Lim and his two children were scheduled to testify next in the test.
Accept wisdom is intended to be the concluding statement of a dispute and the expression of an understanding between all parties involved.
Hin Leong lost US$ 808 million in costs between 2010 and 2020 from prospects and swaps, which the company claims were hiding due to US$ 2.1 billion in profits overreported.
Direct counsel for the liquidators, Drew &, Napier’s chief executive officer and Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull, had stated in his opening declaration that the community had deliberately concealed Hin Leong’s losses and portrayed the business as successful when it was, in truth, “massively bankrupt”.
The number of US$ 3.5 billion is the same number Hin Leong, which is in forced bankruptcy, had sought the Lims to pay, and was the total number of the company’s unsecured debt as of April 2020.
LIMS ‘ Comments
The Lims claimed in individual statements to the media that they were continuing to oppose the civil lawsuits brought against them but that they were willing to accept the view for a variety of reasons.
The senior, who is represented by doctors from Davinder Singh Chambers, was convicted in May this year in a distinct criminal prosecution for lying and fraud.
On October 15, he is scheduled to be sentenced.
The Lim patriarch claimed to have spoken with his family about the situation and had chosen to concentrate solely on the prosecution’s second civil lawsuit.
I do not want to waste any more of the court’s time and resources, Lim said, despite the civil suits that have been brought against me.  ,
I therefore assured all of the defendants who had sued me that I would consent to a judgment without making any admissions as to liability. I also informed these claimants that I will file for bankruptcy if I do n’t have enough money to pay them all.
He claimed that Credit Agricole and Sembcorp Cogen made up his offer last week, and that judgments are pending to be entered regarding amounts of about US$ 142. million without admission of liability.
The other claimants have requested time, and I have requested that they respond to my offer by this week, according to Lim.
In her statement, Lim’s 57-year-old daughter, who is facing a criminal charge for obstructing justice, claimed that she had been fighting against numerous proceedings against her in the past few years.
” The protracted proceedings have taken a toll on my physical and mental well-being,” said Ms. Lim, who is represented by a team from Advocatus Law led by managing partner Christopher Anand Daniel.
I’ve decided after taking the matter seriously that I need to concentrate on my health, fight the criminal justice system’s demands, and pursue my claims in ( other suits ),” said Ms. Lim.
She also stated that she would file for bankruptcy if she did not have enough assets to pay all of her claimants.
Lim’s son, who was represented by the Damodara Ong law firm, claimed that he did not have enough money to pay all of his claimants and that he had decided to concentrate solely on one claim that he is raising with his father.
CNA has contacted the liquidators for a statement.