SINGAPORE: A former executive of a Singapore wine investment firm has been arrested after evading authorities for 13 years over a Bordeaux En Primeur wine scheme.
Eldric Ko, the ex-president of Premium Liquid Assets Pte Ltd (PLASG), faces 15 charges, including conspiracy to cheat and breach of trust, according to local Singaporean police, as reported by Vino Joy News.
The charges involve an alleged fraud scheme exceeding S$12 million involving wine buyers.
The scheme, which operated between February 2007 and June 2011, promised investors the chance to buy Bordeaux wines before they were bottled. PLASG assured buyers that their wines would be stored in overseas warehouses until ready for delivery.
Instead, Ko and his accomplice, Koo Han Jet, allegedly diverted more than S$12 million intended for these investments into foreign and personal accounts.
Ko left Singapore in May 2011, just before the police started investigating the company. Since then, investors have found that PLASG has stopped responding, with some receiving only automated replies.
A French investor who put in about S$29,000 said he was repeatedly told to “wait” when trying to contact his broker.
It is estimated that between 100 and 400 wine buyers in Singapore were affected, with individual investments ranging from S$7,000 to S$160,000. The exact number of victims remains uncertain because PLASG operates internationally.
The company was registered in Singapore in 2005 and claimed to be “a leading premium wine wholesaler” with offices in Bordeaux, Hong Kong, China, and Malaysia.
PLASG expanded into Hong Kong in 2008, the same year the city removed wine taxes, boosting its profile. However, its operations in Hong Kong ended abruptly in 2011 following a police raid on its Wanchai office.
Among the notable victims was Peter So Man Fung, a well-known Hong Kong fortune teller, who reported spending HKD 800,000 (S$135,933) on 30 cases of Bordeaux wines.
When his investment’s value rose to HKD 4 million (S$679,665), he asked for delivery, only to find the company had ceased operations.
The scam affected over 400 victims in Hong Kong, defrauding more than HKD 50 million (about S$8.5 million). The company also left 11 staff members in Hong Kong unpaid, owing them approximately HKD 600,000 (S$101,949) in salaries.
Records from Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) listed Woo Kuan Yong as a director of PLASG. He said he registered the company at his stepson Eldric Ko’s request but never visited its office.
According to Ko’s mother, she last heard from him in April 2011 when he called from Bangkok. Subsequent attempts to contact him were unsuccessful. Ko was eventually apprehended on May 25 this year upon his return to Singapore.
Under Singaporean law, those found guilty of cheating or criminal breach of trust can face up to 10 years and seven years in prison, respectively, along with possible fines.
Convictions for money laundering carry up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to S$500,000. Those convicted on multiple charges could face doubled penalties. /TISG
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