(Bloomberg) — Singapore is set to charge property tycoon Ong Beng Seng over the case of an ex-minister who was sentenced Thursday for obtaining gifts from the businessman.
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Ong is set to appear in court on Friday, according to a court listing. It comes after S. Iswaran, who served as transport minister until his resignation in January, was handed a 12-month prison term for bribery and obstruction of justice.
It’s the latest response to a scandal that has rocked a city-state known for its zeal for clean governance, after a former minister was sentenced to prison for the first time in almost half a century.
The shift in focus to Ong comes as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who came to power in May, prepares to lead the ruling party into a general election that must be held by November 2025. The case against Iswaran has tested the party that has ruled Singapore uninterrupted since independence in 1965. He has since left the party.
A spokesperson for Ong declined to comment. A spokesperson for Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The 78-year-old tycoon Ong is widely credited for bringing Formula One racing to the city. He owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix, as the night event is known, and is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP Pte.
But his business practices were brought under the microscope after his ties with Iswaran led to the worst graft scandal in the financial hub for decades.
Most of the court charges leveled against Iswaran dealt with his interactions with Ong. The allegations ranged from Iswaran obtaining tickets for UK soccer matches and taking a flight on Ong’s private jet to obtaining tickets to the F1 race in Singapore and tickets to musicals in London. Iswaran’s lawyers argued in court that the valuable items were gifts from his friend Ong.
Ong is also the managing director of Hotel Properties Ltd., a hospitality firm listed in Singapore. The company has interests in hotels under the Four Seasons chain and develops luxury condos in cities like London and Singapore. The Ong family also has a controlling stake in British luxury handbag maker Mulberry Group Plc, and recently rebuffed a takeover approach from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group Plc.
–With assistance from Philip J. Heijmans, Aradhana Aravindan, Michael Sin and Niluksi Koswanage.
(Updates with more details from third paragraph)
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