There is no corruption in Singapore...

Seatrium to pay $168m to Brazilian authorities, $73m to Singapore authorities to settle corruption case​

With this announcement, Seatrium said that Singapore authorities have concluded their joint investigations into potential offences.

Jul 30, 2025

SINGAPORE - Offshore and marine specialist Seatrium said it has signed a leniency agreement with the authorities in Brazil in relation to a long-running corruption probe, known as Operation Car Wash.

It made the announcement on July 30, a day before the company is due to release its earnings for the first half of the 2025 financial year.

Under the terms of the leniency agreements with Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office and other authorities, Seatrium will pay a final settlement of around $168.4 million.

It was also required to pay a penalty of US$110 million (S$141.7 million) to Singapore authorities, under a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) entered with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in Singapore.

However, the AGC has agreed for up to a maximum of US$53 million of the payment to the Brazilian authorities to be credited against the financial penalty here. As such, the amount payable by Seatrium under the DPA will be US$57 million (S$73.3 million).

The DPA, signed on July 30 with Singapore authorities, is subject to approval by the Singapore High Court.

With this announcement, Seatrium said that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore police’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) have concluded their joint investigations into potential offences.

“No action will be taken against the company and/or its officers,” Seatrium said.

Seatrium shares fell 1.3 per cent, or three cents, to $2.35 as at the midday trading break on July 30, after the announcement.

This is after the company lifted a trading halt around 11.20am that it had called for before the market opened earlier.

Seatrium, which was then Sembcorp Marine, became implicated in Operation Car Wash, a major corruption scandal in Brazil, which involved allegations of paying bribes to secure contracts.

The company said in its July 30 statement that it has made provisions in its financial statements for the in-principle settlement payment and financial penalty.

“Following the finalised agreements with the Brazilian and Singapore authorities, the company has reversed a provision of $14 million in its financial statements for the financial period ended June 30 to take into account the finalised settlement payment and financial penalty, current exchange rates and other expenses,” it said.

“There is therefore no material impact on the net earnings and net tangible asset per share of the group for the financial year ending Dec 31.”

Seatrium added that it is “keen to move forward” and to ride on the energy market tailwinds to create transformative offshore energy solutions globally and ultimately deliver long-term sustainable growth.

“The company wishes to emphasise that it remains committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and business integrity, including zero-tolerance for fraud, bribery and corruption,” it said.

It added that it has put robust policies and procedures in place to instill the highest standards of discipline, ethics, and compliance across its global operations.

Jail for cop who pocketed $4,000 entrusted to him, misused police computer system​

Chan Zhiyao was sentenced to 16 months’ jail.

Apr 14, 2025

SINGAPORE – When a woman told a police officer that her former boyfriend was pressing her to transfer money to him, the officer asked her to send him the money instead.

Chan Zhiyao, 44, who was a senior investigation officer at the time, said it was “police procedure” and that he would send the $4,000 she transferred to him, to her former boyfriend directly.

Instead, Chan kept it for himself and spent almost all of it in two days.

On April 14, Chan was sentenced to 16 months’ jail after pleading guilty to criminal breach of trust and a charge under the Official Secrets Act for misusing his workplace computer system.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheah Wenjie said Chan was an inspector and a senior investigation officer (IO) in the Singapore Police Force (SPF) at the time of his offences.

In 2022, a woman, who was not named in court, filed a police report that she had been molested by her former boyfriend. Chan was assigned as the IO on this case.

During the investigations, the woman told Chan that her former boyfriend had transferred $4,000 to her and wanted it back.

Chan lied that it was “police procedure” for her to transfer the $4,000 to him, and he would transfer the money to her former boyfriend. He then pocketed the money.

His offence came to light when the former boyfriend filed a complaint against Chan about not receiving the money.


Chan contacted the woman and told her to lie to his colleague that she had not transferred to him any money. Trusting his position as a police officer, she lied while making a police statement, but later came clean after consulting her family.

Chan then admitted he had received the money, noting that he had intended to return it but was too overwhelmed with work to do so.

Separately, Chan misused an SPF computer system in 2020 to screen an individual, who was not named in court, and obtain a police report number pertaining to this person.

He then gave the police report number to someone else despite having no authority to do so.

Seeking a jail term of 17 to 20 months, DPP Cheah said that as a senior police officer of about two decades, his offences ought to merit a stern deterrent sentence.

Urging the court for not more than 10 months’ jail for Chan, defence lawyer Noelle Teoh said her client had a long and unblemished career as a police officer before his offences.


Addressing his criminal breach of trust charge, she said: “There was no premeditation or planning on (Chan’s) part, nor was there any sophistication involved in the commission of the offence.

“His actions were impulsive, driven by a moment of rashness and greed, rather than any deliberate intention.”

In response to queries, SPF said on April 15 that it will commence internal action against Chan, who has since been interdicted from duty.

“Officers of the SPF are expected to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity. We deal sternly with officers who break the law, including charging them in court,” added the police spokesman.