SINGAPORE, Dec 28

In a shocking turn of events, former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, known as OK Lim, along with his two children, Lim Huey Ching and Evan Lim Chee Meng, have been officially declared bankrupt, according to a recent publication by the Singapore government gazette.

The declaration follows a court judgment from September that obliges the Lim family to pay a staggering sum of US$3.5 billion (approximately RM15.5 billion) in debts related to Hin Leong Trading, once recognized as one of Asia's largest oil trading companies. The company has found itself in compulsory liquidation, highlighting the severe financial issues that have plagued it since early 2020.

The bankruptcy order, effective from December 19, was instituted after the Lim family acknowledged their inability to meet the overwhelming claims against them. It is now the responsibility of trustees Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin from BDO Advisory to manage their bankruptcy estates.

The resolution stems from a civil trial that began in August 2023, initiated by the liquidators of Hin Leong. Although the Lim family was set to testify, the consent judgment brought the legal proceedings to a close without further litigation.

This judgment underscores the dire financial landscape of Hin Leong, which reportedly suffered losses of US$808 million from futures and swaps over the past decade, a revelation that has raised eyebrows in the financial community. The company is accused of deceptively overstating profits by as much as US$2.1 billion, thus masking their extensive insolvency.

In a separate and closely related incident, OK Lim faced conviction in May 2024 on charges of cheating and complicity in forgery, part of a notorious trade financing fraud scandal that has been described as one of the most severe in Singapore's history. Following this conviction, he was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison, with plans to appeal the verdict still in motion.

This dramatic fall from grace for the Lim family reverberates beyond Singapore’s financial sector, serving as a cautionary tale about the consequences of corporate mismanagement and the intricate world of trade financing. With their bankruptcy and impending legal troubles, the family’s legacy now remains in jeopardy.