Past scandals - National Bank of Brunei (NBB)

This blog will cover not only Singapore cases but notable past cases that may be of interest to Singaporeans.

One case from Brunei concerns Khoo Teck Phuat and his son Khoo Ban Hock. The latter was managing director of NBB w. Under his charge, the bank loaned more than Brunei $1 billion (which is equivalent to Singapore $1 billion) to companies controlled by his father. These loans were undocumented and unsecured. It was claimed that these offences under Brunei banking laws by Khoo Ban Hock were committed under the control and his direction of his father.

When this dishonesty was discovered, the younger Khoo was sentenced to 3 years jail but later only served two. The elder Mr Khoo was not charged, but it was understood that he made restitution of about S$600 million to cover the losses suffered by various party. Mr Khoo Teck Puat later went on to become a billionaire, and was of the largest shareholders in megabank Standard Chartered when he died in 2004. However, after the NBB scandal, he kept a low profile.