Executive in Australia allegedly stole $2.38m from Singapore’s CapitaLand Ascott Trust

SINGAPORE - Singapore-listed CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas) will be fully compensated for the losses it suffered from an alleged white-collar crime in Australia, said its managers on Sept 20.

This came a day after news publications Australian Financial Review (AFR) and The Edge reported that the senior executive purportedly faked tax, insurance and legal documents in order to misappropriate funds.

According to AFR, CapitaLand accused senior executive Lee Yongho of falsifying tax invoices to have the company pay more tax than required, then pocketing the refunds when they were issued by the state revenue authorities.

Mr Lee, 44, is also accused of diverting insurance payments to bank accounts he controlled and inflating invoices for legal services, with those payments reportedly going into his account as well.

AFR said Mr Lee allegedly moved A$2.7 million (S$2.38 million) in small increments over a long time. The largest amount he allegedly stole in one payment was A$753,000.

Mr Lee, a South Korean citizen who joined CapitaLand in 2018, was dismissed in 2023 for failing to submit the company’s tax documents, according to AFR. His dismissal was unrelated to his alleged scheme to steal company funds, it said.

CapitaLand detected the payments only at the end of 2023 when auditors flagged the suspicious transactions. But Mr Lee could not be reached and, according to affidavits filed with Australia’s Federal Court, police believe he has fled to South Korea, AFR reported.

Clas’ managers said that the incident will not have an impact on its distribution per stapled security and net tangible assets per stapled security for the financial year ending Dec 31.

Stapled securities of Clas was at 96 cents at the close of market on Sept 20.

THE BUSINESS TIMES