There is no corruption in Singapore...

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Shares of Singapore’s Wilmar tumble after Indonesian court overturns corruption acquittal​

Wilmar International said in a bourse filing on Sept 25 that Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned the previous acquittals of the group and two Indonesian palm oil companies.

Sep 25, 2025

SINGAPORE – Singapore-based global palm oil company Wilmar International has been found guilty of corruption after Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned its previous acquittal in a graft case involving cooking oil export permits during the shortage crisis in 2021 and 2022.

Founded by Singaporean tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, the Singapore-listed company said in a bourse filing on Sept 25 that Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned the previous acquittals of the group and two Indonesian palm oil companies – Permata Hijau and Musim Mas.

The news sent Wilmar’s share price tumbling on Sept 26. The stock slumped as much as 3.8 per cent to the lowest since February 2016 on an intraday basis, before closing down 1.4 per cent at $2.85.

The companies were accused of illegally profiting from the evasion of state-imposed export controls on cooking oil and palm oil.

The controls were implemented to address Indonesia’s cooking oil crisis and domestic palm oil shortage in 2021 and 2022, as global palm oil prices surged.

Specifics of the Indonesian Supreme Court’s grounds of judgment and any financial awards have not been released.

The Indonesian Attorney-General’s Office (AGO) has sought 11.8 trillion rupiah (S$913 million) in compensation and a billion rupiah fine from Wilmar.

Permata Hijau faced a fine of one billion rupiah and was ordered to pay 937 billion rupiah in compensation. Musim Mas was also fined one billion rupiah and ordered to pay 4.8 trillion rupiah in compensation. Suspects in the case were first named in 2022, including a government official and executives of the three companies or their subsidiaries.

In March 2025, the lower court acquitted the three companies of all charges, but by April, the AGO had arrested all four judges handling the case on charges of taking at least US$1.1 million (S$1.4 million) in bribes to arrange a favourable verdict.

In June, Indonesia’s Supreme Court began reviewing the case, as the AGO seized 11.8 trillion rupiah from Wilmar as compensation for state losses arising from the case.

In a statement, the group said: “While Wilmar respects the decision of the Indonesian Supreme Court, it maintains that the actions taken by the Wilmar Respondents, during the period of a shortage of cooking oil in the Indonesian market, were done in compliance with prevailing regulations and in good faith.”

Shares of the counter closed down 0.7 per cent, or two cents, at $2.89 on Sept 25, before the update.

 

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Wilmar shares fall to lowest since 2016 after Indonesian court imposes fines​

Wilmar has been ordered to relinquish a 11.9 trillion rupiah deposit – then worth around $928 million -to the state as compensation.

Sep 29, 2025

JAKARTA – Shares of Wilmar International tumbled to the lowest level in nine years after an Indonesian court quashed an acquittal against the group and ordered the company to relinquish a multimillion-dollar security deposit.

The Asian food titan slumped as much as 3.8 per cent in Singapore to the lowest level since February 2016 on an intra-day basis, before clawing back some losses after it announced the Supreme Court decision in a filing after markets closed on Sept 25.

The stock closed flat at $2.85 on Sept 29, but still down 1.4 per cent since news of the “guilty” ruling.

The ruling was against three separate palm oil companies, including Indonesia’s Permata Hijau Group and Musim Mas Group. Charges against Wilmar stemmed from actions taken by five of its subsidiaries between July and December 2021 during a cooking oil shortage. A court panel in March favoured Wilmar, but the Attorney-General’s Office challenged the verdict, with some judges detained for alleged bribery.

Wilmar was ordered to relinquish the deposit to the state as compensation, according to information on the court’s website.

The company had to issue the 11.9 trillion rupiah deposit – then worth around $928 million and equivalent to nearly two-thirds of net income in 2024 – months before the ruling.

In a separate filing late on Sept 26, Wilmar said it expects to report a net loss for the third quarter ending September as a result of the ruling, while staying profitable for the 2025 fiscal year. It said it may apply for judicial review of the Supreme Court’s decision.

In the filing a day earlier, Wilmar said it respected the court’s decision, but maintained that the actions taken at the time “were done in compliance with prevailing regulations and in good faith”.

It added that the decision was made against Wilmar, Permata Hijau Group and Musim Mas Group.

Permata Hijau and Musim Mas did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

The Supreme Court ordered Wilmar Nabati Indonesia – one of the five subsidiaries charged in the case – to pay a one billion rupiah (S$77,000) fine, according to information on the court’s website.

RHB Research downgraded its rating on Wilmar shares to “sell” and lowered its price target to $2.50 on expectations that the forfeiture of the deposit would reduce its forecast on Wilmar’s 2025 earnings by 65 per cent. BLOOMBERG

 

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Alleged bribery case hits Singapore canoeing, ex-officials in SEA Games-related incident​

According to sources, the incident came to light in late August when a complaint was made to the Singapore Canoe Federation.

Summary

• A former Singapore Canoe Federation (SCF) official allegedly offered an athlete a bribe of $50,000-$60,000 to withdraw from a SEA Games event
• The SCF conducted an inquiry, deeming it "a misunderstanding" with "no malicious intent", but is reviewing its process under Sport Singapore's advice.
• SportSG is working with the SCF and has requested an independent review, emphasising the seriousness of the matter and the need for good governance.

AI generated

Sep 29, 2025

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s canoeing fraternity has been rocked by controversy ahead of the Dec 9-20 SEA Games, after allegations emerged that a former senior official had offered a bribe to a national athlete to pull out of an event.

The Straits Times understands that the ex-official from the Singapore Canoe Federation (SCF) had in early August approached an athlete – who is part of the 14-member SEA Games squad – with a proposition.

He allegedly offered to pay the kayaker between $50,000 and $60,000 to pull out of a SEA Games event to allow another athlete to take his spot. According to sources, the former had been directed to do so by another ex-senior official from the federation.

When the athlete refused, the first former official then said he would offer the incentive to another team member.

An individual with knowledge of the incident told ST that he was “quite shocked” by the sum of money that was being offered.

The incident came to light in August when a complaint was made to the SCF, which subsequently conducted an inquiry.

In a written reply to ST’s queries, the SCF said that it had “looked into the matter” when the allegations were made known.

“The inquiry found that it was a misunderstanding and there was no malicious intent. SCF maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards misconduct,” said its spokesman.

“As part of our commitment to transparency, the SCF is conducting an in-depth independent review of its inquiry process under advisement of Sport Singapore (SportSG) to ensure continued accountability and good governance.

“The SEA Games team has been selected in accordance with the established selection policy and was announced on Aug 27.”

ST understands that the two officials are no longer part of the SCF and both were not present at the federation’s annual general meeting on Sept 27, when elections were held for a new executive committee.

SCF members who attended the AGM declined to comment on the incident when ST visited the meeting venue at the High Performance Sport Institute.

The two former officials did not respond to requests for comments.

In a reply to ST’s queries, a spokesperson for national governing body SportSG said: “Sport Singapore takes a very serious view regarding matters affecting the integrity and well-being of our sporting community, and will not hesitate to report any wrongdoing to the relevant authorities.

“We are aware that the SCF had earlier completed its inquiry into this matter and taken the necessary actions.

“Given the seriousness of this case, SportSG has asked SCF to also convene an independent committee to conduct a review of its inquiry process, and to strengthen SCF’s governance.

“We are also working with the newly elected committee of SCF to ensure that our TeamSG athletes who have been selected for SEA Games 2025 by the Singapore National Olympic Council continue to be supported in their training and can focus on their preparations for their competition in December 2025.”

This latest incident comes after a number of controversies in Singapore sport.

In March, SportSG filed a police report after an investigation found that the Singapore Underwater Federation had submitted falsified results for the women’s fin swimming 4x200m relay surface event during the selection for the 2023 SEA Games.

In August, nine basketballers were arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau for their suspected involvement in match-fixing in the National Basketball League (NBL).

Among those arrested were players from the teams taking part in the competition.

NBL Division 1 finalists Adroit were subsequently thrown out of the tournament for “fielding suspended and ineligible players” who are under investigation for allegedly fixing league games in their semi-final win over Siglap on Aug 27.

In September, Singapore Cricket Association chief executive Saad Khan Janjua was handed a one-year suspension from coaching by the Safe Sport Disciplinary Panel after it received complaints from players who detailed verbal abuse directed at them.

He was also “suspended from his role as sport administrator, subject to completion of educational intervention”.

But the punishment drew the ire of several players, who felt it was too lenient and “left players disillusioned about the system meant to protect us”.