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Business Times - 12 Jan 2011
Lawyer accused of embezzling client funds
Law Society says he has restored part of shortfall in account
By MICHELLE QUAH
(SINGAPORE) Yet another lawyer now stands accused of embezzling his clients' money - Tan Tiong Hian @ Raymond Tan of his eponymous law firm is believed to have secreted in excess of $1 million of the funds which his clients entrusted to him.
The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is understood to be investigating the matter, while the Law Society has stepped in to probe the conveyancing firm's accounts upon being tipped off that Mr Tan allegedly had on various occasions withdrawn and misappropriated funds from TH Tan Raymond & Co's client account.
BT understands that Mr Tan had not been arrested, at press time, but that the intervention by the council of the Law Society means that Mr Tan's firm can no longer deal with its clients' monies - which essentially means that any legal work contracted by Mr Tan's clients who have funds in the firm's client account is at a standstill.
The Law Society told BT yesterday that, upon inspecting the firm's accounts, it had discovered that there was a shortfall in the firm's client account - the exact amount of which has not yet been ascertained. It also said it is not yet clear when the transgressions took place.
The Society did say, however, that Mr Tan, as a result of pressure from the representative body for all lawyers here, has made good part of the shortfall and used some $900,000 of his own funds to settle his clients' conveyancing transactions.
'However, we cannot be certain that there is no further shortfall,' said Patrick Ang, a member of the council of the Law Society and a partner at Rajah & Tann. 'Latest estimates by the Society indicate a possible outstanding shortfall of about $420,000. The full details of the shortfall can only be determined once there is satisfactory evidence of all claimants to the client account and proper book- keeping records provided of monies received and paid out and cleared from the client account.'
To that end, the Law Society had - upon discovering the shortfall - appointed accounting firm Foo Kon & Tan to assist in reviewing the books and accounts of TH Tan Raymond & Co.
And, in the interest of protecting the firm's clients, the Law Society had also made an urgent application to court for directions on how the funds in the firm's client account should be distributed. Justice Lai Siu Chiu decided yesterday to grant all the orders requested by the Society, which amounted to:
permitting the Law Society to cease making payments from the clients' account pending resolution of the shortfall, so as not to disadvantage any one client;
ordering Mr Tan and his firm to provide information on who may have claim to the funds in the client account; and
for a newspaper advertisement (expected early next week) to be placed in the four main language newspapers asking those with monies in or claims against the firm's client account to come forward.
Mr Ang said of the first order: 'The Law Society regrets any inconvenience or problems caused to the firm's clients but, given the shortfall, needs to ensure that it protects all stakeholders who may have a claim against or an interest in the monies in the said client account.
Mr Tan, who has been the sole proprietor of his firm since September 2005, was not present at the court hearing.
If found guilty, Mr Tan would be the latest in a string of lawyers who have been convicted of making off with their clients' funds. Perhaps the most famous, David Rasif - who skipped town in June 2006 with $11.3 million of his clients' money - is still at large.
Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
.
Business Times - 12 Jan 2011
Lawyer accused of embezzling client funds
Law Society says he has restored part of shortfall in account
By MICHELLE QUAH
(SINGAPORE) Yet another lawyer now stands accused of embezzling his clients' money - Tan Tiong Hian @ Raymond Tan of his eponymous law firm is believed to have secreted in excess of $1 million of the funds which his clients entrusted to him.
The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is understood to be investigating the matter, while the Law Society has stepped in to probe the conveyancing firm's accounts upon being tipped off that Mr Tan allegedly had on various occasions withdrawn and misappropriated funds from TH Tan Raymond & Co's client account.
BT understands that Mr Tan had not been arrested, at press time, but that the intervention by the council of the Law Society means that Mr Tan's firm can no longer deal with its clients' monies - which essentially means that any legal work contracted by Mr Tan's clients who have funds in the firm's client account is at a standstill.
The Law Society told BT yesterday that, upon inspecting the firm's accounts, it had discovered that there was a shortfall in the firm's client account - the exact amount of which has not yet been ascertained. It also said it is not yet clear when the transgressions took place.
The Society did say, however, that Mr Tan, as a result of pressure from the representative body for all lawyers here, has made good part of the shortfall and used some $900,000 of his own funds to settle his clients' conveyancing transactions.
'However, we cannot be certain that there is no further shortfall,' said Patrick Ang, a member of the council of the Law Society and a partner at Rajah & Tann. 'Latest estimates by the Society indicate a possible outstanding shortfall of about $420,000. The full details of the shortfall can only be determined once there is satisfactory evidence of all claimants to the client account and proper book- keeping records provided of monies received and paid out and cleared from the client account.'
To that end, the Law Society had - upon discovering the shortfall - appointed accounting firm Foo Kon & Tan to assist in reviewing the books and accounts of TH Tan Raymond & Co.
And, in the interest of protecting the firm's clients, the Law Society had also made an urgent application to court for directions on how the funds in the firm's client account should be distributed. Justice Lai Siu Chiu decided yesterday to grant all the orders requested by the Society, which amounted to:
permitting the Law Society to cease making payments from the clients' account pending resolution of the shortfall, so as not to disadvantage any one client;
ordering Mr Tan and his firm to provide information on who may have claim to the funds in the client account; and
for a newspaper advertisement (expected early next week) to be placed in the four main language newspapers asking those with monies in or claims against the firm's client account to come forward.
Mr Ang said of the first order: 'The Law Society regrets any inconvenience or problems caused to the firm's clients but, given the shortfall, needs to ensure that it protects all stakeholders who may have a claim against or an interest in the monies in the said client account.
Mr Tan, who has been the sole proprietor of his firm since September 2005, was not present at the court hearing.
If found guilty, Mr Tan would be the latest in a string of lawyers who have been convicted of making off with their clients' funds. Perhaps the most famous, David Rasif - who skipped town in June 2006 with $11.3 million of his clients' money - is still at large.
Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
.
