Singapore court delays decision on Hin Leong founder's assets freeze, sources say

SINGAPORE - A ruling on a request to freeze the assets of Lim Oon Kuin and his two children following the collapse of Lim’s oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd will be made at a later date, following a whole day’s hearing at the Singapore High Court, four sources said on Monday.

Court-appointed liquidators of Hin Leong had asked the court to freeze the family’s assets worldwide, from multi-million-dollar homes to country club memberships, shares and funds to recover money owed to nearly two dozen banks and other creditors globally.

The delay followed a day-long hearing during which the parties made their case, the sources familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity. They said the judge was expected to make a judgement at a date yet to be decided.

Reuters was not immediately able to find out why the judge did not give a judgement.

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Hin Leong’s court-appointed liquidators, their lawyers, the Lim family and their lawyers, and the Singapore High Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of regular work hours.

Hin Leong, once Asia’s top independent oil trading firm, failed in a year-long effort to restructure about $3.5 billion (S$4.6 billion) in debt after the Covid-19-led oil crash laid bare huge losses.

Lim admitted in a court document last year to directing the firm not to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over several years.