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Inter-Pacific Petroleum JMs used by banks in ‘outrageous abuse of process’, claims former Director’s lawyers

‘The JMs have failed to discharge their duties by blindly helping the Banks mount a false case against the Defendant,’ wrote defence lawyers representing former IPP Director Dr Goh Jian Hian in court statement.

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Inter Pacific by Manifold Times

Deloitte & Touche, the Judicial Managers (JMs) of former Singapore bunker supplier and craft operator Inter-Pacific Petroleum (IPP, or the Plaintiff), has been made use by banks in an “outrageous abuse of process”, claim solicitors representing Dr Goh Jian Hian, the former Director of IPP (Defendant), in a court statement.

Dr Goh’s defence statement written on 10 November 2020 (re-dated to 25 March 2021) was amongst documents obtained by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times from the High Court during a September 2021 inquiry; the court is in the midst of seeking further and better particulars from both parties to continue proceedings.

The legal suit started in October 2020 after JMs found IPP having a viable claim against Dr Goh.

Legal fees of the JMs are funded by the Singapore branch of Maybank and Societe Generale (SocGen), both major creditors of IPP, looking to respectively recover USD 88.3 million and USD 81.3 million that they allege to be due to Dr Goh’s negligence as director.

“The Plaintiff’s case in HC/S 953/2020 is an attempt by SocGen and Maybank (either the “Bank”; collectively, the “Banks”), who are funding the litigation, to circumvent the fact that they have no basis to make any claim against the Defendant, to avoid scrutiny of its own conduct and to apply illegitimate pressure on the Defendant to settle the claim by making sensational allegations, which have been widely publicised,” stated Dr Goh’s defence solicitors.

“The JMs of the Plaintiff have allowed themselves to be used in this outrageous abuse of process.

“The Defendant further says that the JMs of the Plaintiff owe a duty to act fairly, impartially, honestly and use reasonable diligence in the discharge of their duties, but they have failed to discharge this duty and to properly investigate and evaluate the Banks’ claims against the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff’s remedies against the parties actually responsible for the alleged fraud.”

The statement noted IPP JMs seeking to claim in excess of USD 156.6 million (exact: USD 156,555,338.31) from Dr Goh on the basis of “solely a single unverified e-mail from Mercuria” that alleges USD 762,371,594 of receivables due on July 2019 to be derived from sham and non-existent transactions.

“The Plaintiff and JMs have not pleaded what losses the Plaintiff has suffered, but have instead collaborated with the Banks to improperly use the Plaintiff as a proxy to attempt recovery of what are the apparent losses of the Banks, who know that they have no legal basis to recover them from the Defendant,” stated lawyers.

They further claimed: “That the JMs have failed to discharge their duties by blindly helping the Banks mount a false case against the Defendant.”

“That is borne out also by the fact that they have not taken the simplest of steps to protect the interests of the Plaintiff by exercising their powers to investigate whether the Banks have any claim against the Plaintiff or taken steps to recover the alleged losses from those responsible for the alleged fraud.

“Nor have the Plaintiff or the JMs made the Banks account for their own conduct, negligence and/or omissions leading up to this alleged loss.”

A timeline organised list of events preceding the current development of Inter-Pacific Petroleum have been recorded by Manifold Times below:

Related: Inter-Pacific Petroleum winding up order application approved
Related: Judicial Managers of Inter Pacific Petroleum file for winding up order
Related: Former Singapore Director of Inter-Pacific Petroleum sued for USD 156 million
Related: Inter-Pacific Petroleum creditors authorised to fund lawsuit against former Director
Related: New Silkroutes under investigation over possible breach of Securities and Futures Act
Related: JMs considering to take former Singapore Director of Inter-Pacific Petroleum to court
Related: Singapore: Inter-Pacific Group receives winding up order from High Court
Related: Singapore: Inter-Pacific Group files for winding up application at High Court
Related: MPA revokes Inter-Pacific Petroleum Pte Ltd bunker supplier licence
Related: Co-heads of Trade and Commodities Finance for Asia-Pacific leave SocGen
Related: Inter-Pacific Group, Inter-Pacific Petroleum to hold creditors’ meet
Related: NewOcean detains Singapore-flagged bunker tanker “Pacific Energy 28”
Related: SocGen lawsuit against NewOcean Petroleum dropped, party to counterclaim
Related: MPA revokes Inter-Pacific Petroleum bunker craft operator licence
Related: Magnets on MFMs: Trial starts for former bunker clerk of “Consort Justice
Related: First suspect charged over MFM tampering in landmark case
Related: With nearly $180 million of debt, IPP proposes interim judicial management
Related: Inter-Pacific Group, Inter-Pacific Petroleum under judicial management
Related: Magnets on MFMs: “Consort Justice” crew pleads ‘not guilty’ to tampering charge
Related: IPP responds to temporary suspension of bunker craft operator licence
Related: MPA temporarily suspends IPP bunker craft operator licence
Related: Singapore: Bunker Cargo officer, crew face charges over alleged MFM tampering

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 14 September, 2021

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Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

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RESIZED Sora Shimazaki on Pexels

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July). 

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions. 

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Related: Singapore: Hin Leong Founder OK Lim gets jail term slashed to 13.5 years

 

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

  • That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

  • that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
  • that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
  • that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd. 

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Related: Singapore: Director declares Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping’s inability to continue business
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

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PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. 

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post. 

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024. 

 

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026

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