Category Archives: Conveyancing / Legal

Lawyer fined $10,000 for failure to report suspicious property transaction

Posted on 18 Apr 2018 | Comments Off on Lawyer fined $10,000 for failure to report suspicious property transaction

Sterling Law Corporation MD Kang Bee Leng suspected that the money used for the Sentosa Cove property purchase was linked to a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

A conveyancing lawyer has been fined $10,000 over her failure to notify the authorities of a suspicious property transaction in Sentosa Cove despite her suspicion that the money for the purchase was linked to a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, reported Channel NewsAsia.

Sterling Law Corporation managing director Kang Bee Leng pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday (17 Apr).

More: Sale Of Sentosa Villa Scrapped After China Buyer Arrested

Chinese tycoon Zhang Min, who served as president and CEO of Yucheng International Holdings Group, was referred to Kang by property agent Tan Yen in October 2015.

For her $23.8 million purchase of 38 Lakeshore View in Sentosa, Zhang provided Kang with her identification documents, income tax records and payslips through email.

Zhang paid over $5.4 million towards the acquisition between October and November 2015, including $4.279 million in stamp duties to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, $1.19 million for the Option to Purchase and $12,581 in conveyance fees to Kang’s law firm.

On 12 January 2016, a day before the scheduled completion of the property acquisition, Kang tried to contact Zhang but received no response. Tan, the property agent who referred Zhang, told Kang that her client had been detained in China.

A few months later, Kang read that Ezubao, the peer-to-peer lending platform of Zhang’s Yucheng Group, was a Ponzi scheme worth $10.8 billion. Reports revealed that Zhang was also the girlfriend of Yucheng Group chairman Ding Ning, who showered her with lavish gifts including a US$20 million property in Singapore.

While Kang suspected that the money paid for the property acquisition represented criminal proceeds from the alleged Ponzi scheme, she did not file a Suspicious Transaction Report.

For her failure to flag the suspicious property transaction, Kang could have been fined up to $20,000.

Meanwhile, Tan was also charged and is set to appear in court later in the month.

 

Source : Property Guru 18 Apr 2018

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Posted in Conveyancing / Legal, Property Market / Real Estate, Sentosa Property

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Court divides bungalow based on couple’s contribution

Posted on 5 Jul 2014 | Comments Off on Court divides bungalow based on couple’s contribution

Before buying a house, married couples should discuss how they will split the property in case they break up.

The Court of Appeal said this in its ruling last week, regarding an ownership tussle over a $20 million good class bungalow (GCB) between Chan Yeun Lan and her husband, See Fong Mun.

The house was purchased in 1983 by See, using his own funds and overdrafts, plus $290,000 from Chan’s savings. Three days before the transaction, she inked a power of attorney which allows her husband and their eldest son to manage the 20,000 sq ft property.

However, she rescinded the document in April 2011. Consequently, her husband filed a case in the High Court to invalidate her action, and he won the right to keep the bungalow in May 2013.

In the appeal, his lawyers Lim Seng Siew and Lai Swee Fung argued the house in Chancery Lane belonged entirely to their client because Chan’s contribution was intended to be a loan that will be repaid by See.

Chan’s Senior Counsel Engelin Teh and attorney Simon Jones asserted that certain documents prove that See had agreed to give her the ownership of the property in return for her contributions.

However, the Court of Appeal, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal V.K. Rajah and Andrew Phang, decreed that 15.8 percent of the property should go to Chan due to her financial contribution. This is because both parties’ common intention in relation to the house is uncertain due to incomplete evidence and the wife’s hazy memory.

Chan died earlier this year, after her appeal was heard against a High Court decision.

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Posted in Conveyancing / Legal, Luxury Property

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