Defence accuses prosecution witness of caring only about revenue

$1.46b nickel-trading scam

- Selina Lum

Ng Yu Zhi's lawyer on Nov 29 accused investor Veronica Shim Wai Han of caring only about generating income from his client's nickel investment scheme, and not about whether the underlying transactions were genuine.

Shim, a private banker for 20 years and former chief executive of a fund management company, emphatically disagreed.

She was being cross-examined by Mr Nichol Yeo, one of the four lawyers acting for Ng, on day four of his ongoing trial.

Ng is accused of masterminding a nickel-trading scam that attracted $1.46 billion from 947 investors over six years, and allegedly used the invested funds to finance his lavish lifestyle.

Ng told investors they could make profits from the buying and selling of physical nickel through his two companies.

The scheme was first offered through Envy Asset Management (EAM).

After EAM was placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's investor alert list in March 2020, the scheme was moved to Envy Global Trading (EGT).

Ng claimed he could buy nickel at a discount from an Australian mining company and then sell the metal for sizeable profits.

Prosecutors say no nickel was bought or sold; earlier investors were paid with money put in by other investors.

Ng is contesting 42 charges of fraudulent trading, cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.