Singaporean previously linked to Newcastle United takeover bid given 58 more charges
Nelson Loh Ne-Loon had been wanted by the police for about two years.
The State Courts in Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)
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SINGAPORE: A former director of Novena Global Healthcare Group (NGHG) was on Wednesday (Jan 24) given 58 fresh charges of cheating, forgery and money laundering.
Nelson Loh Ne-Loon now faces 60 charges in total, including two counts of forgery meted out in December 2022.
Loh previously made the news in 2020 when he became part of a trio of investors looking to buy English Premier League club Newcastle United. A deal never materialised.
A former employee of the healthcare group who worked closely with Loh, Michael Wong Soon Yuh, was charged with 12 counts of similar offences, the police said on Wednesday.
The two Singaporeans, both aged 44, left Singapore in early September 2020. But soon after their departure, police received a report that signatures of accounting firm Ernst & Young had been forged on some of NGHG's financial statements.
The pair had allegedly forged audited NGHG financial statements in 2019 and used those statements to obtain bank loans amounting to S$18 million (US$13.4 million), the police said at the time.
Warrants of arrest and Interpol red notices were issued against the men.
Singapore police said that the pair returned in December 2022 with the cooperation and assistance of their counterparts in China. The men were then each charged with two counts of forgery offences.
As part of the fresh charges, Loh and Wong are accused of conspiring to forge audited financial statements of NGHG, Novena Global Healthcare as well as wine and beverage distribution company Giron.
The men allegedly cheated six banks into disbursing loans of about S$51.9 million and US$12.7 million.
Loh faces 48 counts of transferring property which represents benefits from criminal conduct, amounting to about S$29 million and US$12.2 million.
Wong faces four similar charges, amounting to about S$19 million.
Each charge of forgery or engaging in a conspiracy to forge carries a punishment of up to four years’ jail, a fine, or both.
Engaging in a conspiracy to cheat is punishable with a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Those found guilty of money laundering can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.
