No Signboard CEO says fresh charges related to 2019 probes
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The police said on July 27 that No Signboard CEO Lim Yong Sim had been charged with share price rigging offences under the SFA.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Megan Cheah
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SINGAPORE - Restaurant operator No Signboard’s executive chairman and chief executive Lim Yong Sim has clarified that the new charges brought against him for price rigging offences last Thursday
He was not asked to assist in other investigations or interviews with the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), the company said in a bourse filing on Monday.
These previous investigations had resulted in his arrest and release on bail over suspicions that he violated the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) and concerned an abortive share buyback transaction on Jan 31, 2019. Lim said he was not provided with any information during these investigations to believe otherwise.
The police said last Thursday that Lim had been charged with share price rigging offences under the SFA. If convicted, he may be jailed for up to seven years or fined up to $250,000, or both.
The fresh charges arose from a joint investigation by the CAD and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Lim – the grandson of the founder of No Signboard – was charged with three counts under Section 197(1)(b) of the SFA for creating a false appearance related to the price of Catalist-listed No Signboard shares.
He had allegedly placed orders for No Signboard shares and traded them under the trading account of Gugong for the purpose of pushing up or supporting the stock’s price, between June 19 and June 29, 2018, as well as between Nov 30, 2018, and Jan 11, 2019. GuGong is an entity controlled by Lim.
In a bourse filing last Friday, No Signboard’s board said the investigating authorities had not approached the board or the firm during the course of the probe, nor revealed any details of the charges.
But the firm received queries from the Singapore Exchange last Thursday through its sponsor, PrimePartners Corporate Finance.
The board’s nomination committee is formulating its view on Lim’s suitability to remain as a board member and key management of No Signboard. It will post an update and respond to the queries by Wednesday.
Trading in No Signboard shares has been suspended since January 2022. THE BUSINESS TIMES
