SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Three former key management executives of Raffles United Holdings have been charged with false trading offences under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), purportedly to inflate the share price of the former mainboard-listed company.

In a statement on Friday (July 23), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said the three individuals had conducted trades between December 2016 and March 2018 to "push up the price of Raffles United shares".

The individuals were not named, and were referred to by the SPF only by their former designations in the company.

Raffles United's former managing director and former chief financial officer (CFO) were each charged with three counts under Section 197(1)(b) of the SFA, while its former director of business development was charged with four counts.

The former managing director had allegedly purchased Raffles United shares through the accounts of two other persons, while the former CFO and former director of business development had allegedly performed cross trades with each other.

If convicted, the trio face imprisonment of up to seven years, or a fine of up to $250,000, or both, on each count of the Section 197(1)(b) SFA charge.

Bearings and seals supplier Raffles United was delisted in December 2019, after a compulsory acquisition from offeror GATXH Holdings, a vehicle for then executive director Amanda Marie Teo Xian-Hui.

Ms Teo is the daughter of Raffles United's then managing director Teo Teng Beng.

The duo, along with then CFO Ho Hui Min, were interviewed by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in May 2018 as part of investigations into potential breaches of the SFA.

Back then, several other individuals linked to the company, including Koh Hai Yang, business development director of Raffles United's subsidiary Kian Ho, were also interviewed by the CAD.