When Ng Yu Zhi strode into Singapore’s elite circles, he was seen as a financial wunderkind of sorts – a young ex-accountant who promised eye-watering returns on investments in nickel trading.
Nearly a decade later, Ng, 37, now stands trial for allegedly orchestrating what is believed to be Singapore’s largest Ponzi scheme: a S$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) fraud that has ensnared nearly 1,000 investors.
The case has become a talking point in Singapore, notably for how some of the city state’s brightest and most influential figures have purportedly fallen prey to the scam.
Among the 947 victims Ng allegedly ensnared are Temasek International general counsel Pek Siok Lan, former Law Society president Thio Shen Yi, Chuan Hup Holdings CEO Terence Peh Siong Woon and Vickers Venture Partners founder Finian Tan, renowned for his early investment in Baidu.
Their losses reach into the millions. Pek was allegedly cheated of S$5.5 million, Thio of more than S$500,000, Peh of S$3 million, and Tan of US$19.2 million.
“This case involved too many reputable people. These are not stupid people, and no one deserved to be scammed,” private banker Veronica Shim Wai Han, one of the victims and prosecution witnesses, told the court last week, according to local media reports. “At least two investors had died directly or indirectly because of pressure from this case.