SINGAPORE: Absconding with a chest of money to a tropical island for carefree days sipping pina coladas by the beach is a common movie trope. Yet, disappearing from the face of the earth is no easy feat, even with a chest of money. Nevertheless, it does happen – even in Singapore – at least until the law catches up with the absconder.
Take for example the recent high-profile case of former Apple reseller Epicentre Holdings, whose CEO is still at large. In a special audit report on Catalist-listed Epicentre, it was said that Kenneth Lim, who is also the chairman, had arranged for loans with various external parties, some of which bore Epicentre’s stamp.
However, these loans were neither received nor recorded by the company. Almost S$28 million of such loans were highlighted in the report.
The plot thickened when Epicentre announced that Lim had been uncontactable since May 2019, and his whereabouts were unknown.
A Catalist-listed entity like Epicentre is subject to Catalist Rules and the obligations arising from the Code of Corporate Governance. Part of the intrigue of cases such as Epicentre’s is the manner in which such malfeasance escaped the safety net of dutiful regulatory reporting, which should have uncovered such financial irregularities.
There is also the case of Singapore-based Three Arrows Capital, a once high-flying hedge fund whose collapse bankrupted creditors and caused massive financial distress to investors. Reports have said Three Arrows Capital owes its creditors US$2.8 billion (S$3.9 billion).
According to court documents filed in early July, the whereabouts of co-founders Zhu Su and Kyle Davies were unknown, and they were “rumoured to have left Singapore”. After weeks of hiding, the founders told Bloomberg in a telephone interview in late July that they went into hiding because of death threats. Zhu Su reportedly reappeared in Thailand on Aug 19 to deliver an affidavit in person.
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