Khoon Engineering says it has no links to cybercrime being investigated by US

An electrical works company in Singapore has come out to say it is not involved in cybercrime being investigated by the US Treasury Office.

- Christine Tan

Khoon Engineering told The Straits Times in a statement on Oct 31 that its operations here are independent of the publicly listed Khoon Group in Hong Kong, and the family that founded the company in Singapore no longer owns any shares in the Group.

The Group’s latest annual report released on Sept 29 lists Khoon Engineering as an operating subsidiary.

On Nov 4, Khoon Group announced the resignation of two of its executive directors - Mr Ang Jui Khoon and Mr Ang Kok Kwang.

Mr Ang Jui Khoon will also be leaving his role as the firm’s board chairman and chairman of the nomination committee, while the younger Mr Ang Kok Kwang will leave his roles as chief executive of the group and member of the group’s remuneration committee.

Both men said the resignations come so that they can devote themselves to personal and other business commitments.

The engineering firm’s statement to ST came after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) sanctioned 146 people or entities on Oct 4, including Khoon Group, amid allegations of links to online scams and the laundering of stolen funds.

The sanctions followed a probe into Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who is alleged to be the mastermind of one of Southeast Asia’s largest cybercrime organisations.

The China-born Chen heads Prince Group, a self-described multinational business conglomerate with projects in Cambodia that include resorts and hotels. Prince Group was also sanctioned.