The mastermind behind the share price manipulation of Catalist-listed Koyo International 5OC , Andrew Lin Eng Jue, has been sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment by district judge Chay Yuen Fatt at the State Courts.
Over a 17-month period between 2014 and 2016, Lin was accused of leading a scheme to manipulate the price of Koyo shares from a low of 16 cents Aug 12, 2014 to a high of 40 cents in January 2016.
The scheme involved the buying and selling of Koyo shares via a total of 53 trading accounts under the names of 15 individuals across eight brokerages.
When the scheme unravelled, Koyo share price crashed by almost 84%, closing at 5.6 cents on Jan 18, 2016 while the market capitalisation had dropped by an excess of $58 million.
According to prosecutors, Lin has also displayed a lack of remorse throughout proceedings. On top of being uncooperative, Lin provided “contrived and incredulous” responses to the Monetary Authority of Singapore during investigations — only pleading guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence.
As at 3.29pm, shares in Koyo are trading flat at 4.6 cents.
