Khoon Engineering says it has no links to cybercrime; not involved in a US probe

SINGAPORE – An electrical works company in Singapore has come out to say it is not involved in cybercrime being investigated by the US Treasury Office.

Khoon Engineering told The Straits Times in a statement on Oct 31 that its operations here are independent of the publicly listed Khoon Group in Hong Kong, and the family that founded the company in Singapore no longer owns any shares in the Group.

The Group’s latest annual report released on Sept 29 lists Khoon Engineering as an operating subsidiary.

On Nov 4, Khoon Group also announced the resignation of two of its executive directors – Mr Ang Jui Khoon and Mr Ang Kok Kwang.

Mr Ang Jui Khoon will also be leaving his role as the firm’s board chairman and chairman of the nomination committee, while the younger Mr Ang Kok Kwang will leave his roles as chief executive of the group and member of the group’s remuneration committee.

Both men said the resignations come so that they can devote themselves to personal and other business commitments.

The engineering firm’s statement to ST came after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) sanctioned 146 people or entities on Oct 14, including Khoon Group, amid allegations of links to online scams and the laundering of stolen funds.

The sanctions followed a

probe into Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi

, who is alleged to be the mastermind of one of South-east Asia’s largest cybercrime organisations.

The China-born Chen heads Prince Group, a self-described multinational business conglomerate with projects in Cambodia that include resorts and hotels. Prince Group was also sanctioned.

ST had

reported on Oct 27

that Chen is the controlling shareholder of Khoon Group and all its subsidiaries, through acquiring shares of the Group by January 2023.

The Group’s ultimate holding company is Southern Heritage, a firm that is wholly owned by Chen. Southern Heritage was also sanctioned on Oct 14.

In its statement to ST, Khoon Engineering said Chen is not involved in its business in Singapore.

The firm said that Khoon Group is a holding company with no business activities, adding that there has been no transfer of funds between Khoon Engineering and the Group.

In its annual report, the Group describes itself as a mechanical and electrical engineering contractor in Singapore that specialises in providing electrical engineering solutions.

Khoon Engineering’s Oct 31 statement said that all its projects are located in Singapore. The firm provides electrical installation and related services as a subcontractor working under a main contractor, for the Housing Board.

It also engages in additions and alterations, as well as upgrading works for town councils and private developers.

Mr Ang Kok Kwang, the director of Khoon Engineering, added that the founding Ang family, which started the electrical engineering business in 1988, sold its entire 55 per cent stake in Khoon Group to Chen almost three years ago.

He said they now run the Khoon Engineering operations in Singapore as salaried staff, independently of the Hong Kong company.

Khoon Engineering has also not paid dividends to Khoon Group since the holding firm was listed in 2019, said the release.

Mr Ang said: “All our projects, teams and revenues are fully local, and we do not have any overseas funds or transactions… Many of our staff have been with us for decades, and the family felt an obligation to carry on the business here for them.”

The Group’s annual filing said that as at Sept 25, Mr Ang Kok Kwang, along with Mr Ang Jui Khoon, remained executive directors who sit on the board of Khoon Group.

The probe into Chen’s alleged scam empire led to the largest seizure to date in the US Department of Justice’s history, where the authorities seized at least US$15 billion (S$19.5 billion) worth of bitcoin.

Three Singaporeans and 17 Singapore-registered entities

have been sanctioned by the US

over their alleged links to Chen, his affiliates and Prince Group.

This effectively bars US persons from conducting any transactions with them and requires the blocking of any property in their possession or under their control.

ST had reached out to Khoon Engineering and Khoon Group several times via calls, e-mails and a visit to Khoon Engineering on Oct 23 at its Ang Mo Kio office, which is also the principal place of business of the Group.

Khoon Group and Mr Ang Kok Kwang did not respond to ST’s queries. ST made several other attempts to reach out to the group, its CEO and chief financial officer Ken Lim Shi Ann between Oct 22 and Oct 25, and also did not receive a response.

On Oct 30, the Singapore Police Force

seized assets worth more than $150 million

linked to Chen Zhi and Prince Group in relation to money laundering and forgery offences. The assets included bank accounts, properties, a yacht and 11 cars.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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