Billion-dollar nickel scam: Accused bought luxe cars for wife, girlfriends

Over six months, alleged fraudster Ng Yu Zhi spent nearly $7 million buying eight high-end cars, most of which were given to his wife and three girlfriends.

- Selina Lum

The cars included two Rolls-Royce Phantom EWB luxury saloons, top-of-the-range models which have more legroom.

Ng paid $1.8 million for one in white, which he gave to his wife, and another $2.1 million for a purple one, which he gave to a girlfriend.

In total, he is said to have spent more than $21 million on about 20 luxury cars.

Ng also splurged on unusual car plate numbers — he paid $1.05 million for "SIIT", which is believed to be the first civilian car plate registered in Singapore, and $91,000 for "ESIJ".

Details of the purchases emerged on April 11, when car dealer Michael Ho took the stand in Ng's ongoing criminal trial in the High Court.

Ng is accused of masterminding a nickel-trading scam which attracted $1.46 billion from hundreds of investors.

The scheme was perpetrated by his Envy group of companies between 2016 and 2021.

He told investors he could buy nickel at a discount and then sell the metal for profit.