S'pore firm sanctioned by US was involved in HDB projects

Khoon Group under scrutiny over links to China-born tycoon in cybercrime probe

- Andrew Wong Correspondent

Tucked away in a corner on the fourth floor of an Ang Mo Kio industrial building is an electrical works company which was once involved in providing electrical engineering services to Housing Board estates.

Khoon Group, an investment holdings company, started as Khoon Engineering when Singaporean brothers Ang Jui Khoon and Jui Heok opened their business in May 1988.

Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and headquartered in Singapore, Khoon Group is now run by chief executive Ang Kok Kwang, Mr Ang Jui Heok's nephew.

The company now finds itself in the crosshairs of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) over its links to Cambodian national Chen Zhi.

Khoon Group is one of 146 people or entities sanctioned by the Ofac on Oct 14 amid allegations of links to online scams and the laundering of stolen funds.

Chen, a China-born tycoon, is at the centre of a major cybercrime and anti-scam probe involving investigators in the US and Britain.

Hailing from Fujian, Chen heads Prince Group, a self-described multinational business conglomerate with projects in Cambodia that include resorts and hotels.

He is also the alleged mastermind of one of Southeast Asia's largest cybercrime organisations.

The probe led to the largest seizure to date in the US Department of Justice's history.

The authorities in the US, where Chen was charged in absentia in a court in New York, have seized at least US$15 billion (S$19.5 billion) worth of bitcoin.

The British government has seized properties worth £112 million (S$193.6 million) in London.

All assets belonging to those on the sanctions list that are in the US or in the possession of US officials and other people will be blocked and reported to Ofac.

Any entities that are 50 per cent or more owned, directly or indirectly, by those on the sanctions list will also be blocked in the US.