Wong Leon Keat, a former director at financial consultancy firm WLA Regnum, has be sentenced to eight weeks’ imprisonment and a fine of $30,000 for false trading and deceiving a brokerage firm while trading in the shares of Gaylin Holdings.
Wong was convicted on Feb 11 following a joint investigation conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). The Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST) was the one who referred the case to MAS.
Wong faces 17 charges under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) for “creating misleading appearances with respect to the price of Gaylin shares”.
He faces another charge under the SFA for deceiving UOB Kay Hian by not disclosing his 50% interest in Gaylin shares bought using a UOB Kay Hian account belonging to another individual, and yet another charge for providing false information to the officer investigating the case.
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Gaylin Holdings, which is now known as the Amos Group, is a Singapore-based provider of products, services and solutions to the oil and gas (O&G) and maritime industries.
WLA Regnum, which is in the business of advising corporate entities on initial public offerings (IPOs) on the SGX-ST’s Mainboard and Catalist board, advised Gaylin on its IPO in 2012.
Wong, in his personal capacity, introduced investors to invest in Gaylin shares.
From 2012 to 2016, Wong had helped several individuals manage their investments and had control over their accounts in UOB Kay Hian.
On 17 occasions, from Nov 11, 2015, to Oct 25, 2016, Wong bought Gaylin shares of 100 to 200 units per transaction through a UOB Kay Hian trading account under the names of one of these individuals.
His trades caused shares in Gaylin to close 6.5% to 38.6% higher than they would have done otherwise.
Wong says the “misleading appearance” with regard to Gaylin’s shares were done to “protect his reputation” as his company had been involved in Gaylin’s IPO process and he had introduced investors to invest in the company.
