KTL Global ex-CEO Tan Kheng Yeow jailed for misappropriating $1 million
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Tan Kheng Yeow arriving at State Courts on Nov 14.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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SINGAPORE - The former chief executive and director of KTL Global, Tan Kheng Yeow, has been convicted of criminal breach of trust involving almost $1 million, the Singapore Police Force said on Nov 18.
He was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail for diverting about $1 million away from, ostensibly, the purchase of machinery by a KTL Global unit to instead create a false appearance of active trading in KTL Global shares using the funds.
Tan had been convicted in January 2024 of false trading and sentenced to eight months’ jail, which he served after the courts rejected his appeal.
He was found to have engaged in a conspiracy with another individual to create a false appearance of active trading in KTL Global shares to help the company meet the Singapore Exchange’s six-month minimum volume weighted average price of 20 cents.
Formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange mainboard, KTL Global was delisted in 2024.
On his latest conviction, Tan was a director of and entrusted with managing the bank accounts of KTL Offshore (KTLO), a subsidiary of KTL Global.
On or around April 23, 2015, Tan informed KTLO that a transfer of about $1 million from KTLO to KTL Offshore Hong Kong (KTL HK) was required.
On or around May 5 that year, he instructed the transfer to be made from KTLO to KTL HK. Subsequently, $999,980 was transferred on May 20.
The transfer was supposedly for KTL HK to purchase machinery on behalf of KTL Offshore Technology (Nantong), a joint venture company in which KTL Global held a 40 per cent stake. The Nantong unit in turn held a 40 per cent stake in KTL HK.
But Tan diverted the funds to share trading, in particular to finance KTL Global trades.
This was done by using various trading accounts to artificially create a false appearance of active trading in KTL Global’s shares.
On the latest conviction, Tan initially claimed trial but pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust midway through the trial proceedings, said the police. He was convicted by the State Courts on June 20, 2025.
A similar charge involving $500,000 was taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. THE BUSINESS TIMES
