Legal

Shell MGO bunker heist: Second ex-Shell employee pleads guilty to nine charges

Accused’s primary role in the heist was to control the valve to bypass custody transfer meters which would otherwise capture the movement of bunker oil.

Published

6 years ago

January 7, 2021

Admin

A former Shell Eastern Petroleum employee on Wednesday (6 January) pleaded guilty to being involved in the Shell MGO bunker heist by embezzling millions of dollars’ worth of gas oil from the Pulau Bukom refinery for sale to other parties.

Muhammad Ashraf Bin Hamzah is the second former Shell employee to admit to his involvement in the case.

According to court documents obtained by Manifold Times, he pleaded guilty to nine accounts of aiding and abetting criminals in a breach of trust as an employee over SGD 49 million worth of gas oil between 2017 and 2018.

According to the court filing, former Shell employees Juandi bin Pungot, then a Shore Loading Officer and colleague Abdul Latif bin Ibrahim first began to conduct illegal loadings in 2007 for bunker vessel Anic 1.

Emboldened by their initial success, the duo expanded their illegal loadings to many other bunker ships, and recruited other colleagues into their scheme between 2008 and mid-2013.

Juandi and Abdul Latif subsequently recruited Muhammad Ashraf into the criminal syndicate no later than 2010.

Muhammad Ashraf’s primary role in the heist was to open and close the bypass valve to facilitate the transfer of misappropriated gasoil, by permitting co-conspirators to bypass the custody transfer meters which would otherwise capture the movement of oil. Muhammad Ashraf was aware of this.

Given the increase in manpower, the co-conspirators were able to increase the frequencies of illegal loadings for Anic 1 to approximately twice a month.

At the time, Muhammad Ashraf and some co-conspirators received between SGD 10,000 to SGD 15,000 per illegal loading.

From mid-2014, Abdul Latif left Shell but the syndicate decided to resume their criminal activities without Abdul Latif.

The syndicate continued to facilitate illegal loadings with Vietnamese vessels and some Singaporean corporate buyers.

At this point, operations involved corruptly bribing independent surveyors appointed by Shell to conduct inspections on the quality and quantity of gasoil sold to vessels, to refrain from accurately reporting the presence of excess gasoil onboard vessels which had been misappropriated.

Muhammad Ashraf left the syndicate in 2016 and received a total of SGD 700,000 in ill-gotten gains through his participation; he admitted to laundering a portion of the monies through the purchase of a Volvo V40 car for SGD 191,703.16.

He is currently out on bail and a sentencing has been scheduled for Tuesday, 2 March, 2021.

In December 2020, Indian national Sadagopan Premnath was the first ex-Shell employee to plead guilty to his involvement in the heist.

The estimated cost directly incurred by Shell at the end of 2020 to manage the consequence of the long-term misappropriation, including the implementation of new safety measures detailed is in the region of SGD 6 million.

Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below:

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 7 January, 2021

Legal

Shell Singapore charged over Pulau Bukom oil leaks, reporting delays

Shell faces four charges under Singapore’s Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act over two 2024 oil discharge incidents at its Pulau Bukom facility.

Published

1 day ago

September 25, 2026

Admin

2 MPA craft (left) supporting Shell craft in the clean up operations of the oil sheens taken on 28 Dec 9am

Shell Singapore has been charged over two incidents in 2024 involving oily mixtures discharged into Singapore waters from its facilities at Pulau Bukom, according to media reports on Tuesday (22 September).

The company faces four charges under the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, including allegations that it failed to report the discharges to the port master immediately.

The first incident occurred on 20 October 2024, when approximately 40 metric tonnes (mt) of oily mixture was discharged through a hole in a pipeline at the Shell Singapore Energy and Chemicals Park at about 8am.

Shell is accused of reporting the incident to the port master at about 12.55pm, several hours after the discharge occurred.

The second incident took place between 26 and 28 December 2024. An estimated 485kg to 956kg of oil mixture was discharged into Singapore waters from the same facility.

Shell is accused of failing to report the incident immediately, with notification to the port master made at about 11.50am on 26 December 2024, according to the charges.

Singapore’s pollution-prevention regulations require occupiers of such facilities to report oil or oily-mixture discharges into Singapore waters “without delay and to the fullest extent possible”.

Shell’s representative requested an eight-week adjournment at the 22 September hearing, citing the need to obtain internal instructions, appoint counsel and locate historical records. The company said the business associated with the incidents had been divested in 2025.

The case was adjourned to October. Shell is also facing prosecution by Singapore’s National Environment Agency over the same incidents.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 25 September, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Xin Bo Shipping Pte Ltd issues notice of dividend

First interim dividend of Xin Bo Shipping is payable by 7 October, according to Government Gazette notice.

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2026

Admin

A notice of dividend for Xin Bo Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Wednesday (23 September).

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Xin Bo Shipping (Pte) Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 199003660R
Address of Registered Office : c/o Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960
Amount per centum (US$) : 30.00 cents to a dollar of admitted unsecured claims
First and Final or otherwise : First Interim Dividend
When payable : By 7 October 2026
Where payable : Entitlements will be made either by way of telegraphic transfer or by cheque, to be collected from the Company’s registered address as above.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 24 September, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Creditors’ meeting for Fair Wind Chartering Pte Ltd scheduled for 6 October

A creditors’ meeting of Fair Wind Chartering Pte Ltd has been scheduled to take place at 3pm on 6 October, according to a Government Gazette notice.

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2026

Admin

A creditors’ meeting of Fair Wind Chartering Pte Ltd has been scheduled to take place on 6 October, according to a Tuesday (22 September) notice on the Government Gazette.

The meeting will be held via video conferencing at 3pm for the following agenda:

To receive a Statement of Affairs of the Company, showing the assets and liabilities, together with a list of creditors and the estimated amount of their claims.
To confirm the appointment of Chee Fung Mei, Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, of CHEE FM & ASSOCIATES 110 Middle Road #05-03 Singapore 188968 as Liquidator of the Company for the purpose of such voluntary winding up, and that the Liquidator’s fees be based on her normal scale rates and disbursements incurred be paid out of the Company’s assets.
To consider and if deemed fit appoint a Committee of Inspection.
To consider any other matters which may properly be brought before the meeting.

According to the Singapore Business Directory website, the company’s principal activity is shipping and chattering of ships or boats.

Note: To entitle you to vote thereat, your Proof of Debt must be lodged with the Provisional Liquidator not later than 10:00am on the 5th October 2026. Please submit your Proof of Debt and register your attendance by email to [email protected] to receive further details on the video conference.

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 24 September, 2026