https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/energy-commodities/it-was-amazing-act-finian-tan-alleged-nickel-trading-scammer-ng-yu-zhis-charade
Dr Tan trusted Ng, who had agreed to invest US$5 million in a Vickers fund, as well as US$13 million in one of the Vickers companies.
However, Ng had never asked Dr Tan to reciprocate and invest in his nickel business. He had also never initiated conversation about his trades before Dr Tan asked how he consistently made profits.
“I never expected this to be a Ponzi. Why would someone doing a Ponzi lock up money for 12 years he can’t touch,” testified the witness, referring to Ng’s investment in his venture capital fund with an investment horizon of over a decade.
Moreover, the venture capitalist had done due diligence on Ng’s nickel business, including enquiring with the people who had invested in it and said that there were no problems with withdrawing the funds.
Dr Tan’s trust in Ng, as well as the due diligence he had done, gave him confidence. This resulted in two of the Vickers funds investing a total of US$14.1 million in the nickel business.
‘It was an amazing act’: Finian Tan of alleged nickel trading scammer Ng Yu Zhi’s charade
The venture capitalist says he was sold and trusted Ng enough
[SINGAPORE] Ng Yu Zhi spoke the traders’ lingo, was always checking nickel prices and, at one point, monitored the hurricane situation in Australia to make sure the loading of his nickel cargo would not be affected.
Finian Tan said that when the nickel cargo was loaded uneventfully, Ng high-fived him.
“It was an amazing act, knowing what I know now. Obviously at the time I took everything as bona fide, but he gained a lot of my trust,” Dr Tan said on Friday (Apr 4), the second day of his testimony in Ng’s trial, as he gave evidence on how he came to trust the accused enough to pour millions into Ng’s purported nickel business.
Dr Tan was one of the 947 investors that were allegedly deceived of almost S$1.5 billion by Ng. The accused faces 108 charges over offences including cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, money laundering and fraudulent trading.
The prosecution is proceeding on 42 of these charges in the trial where Ng is accused of perpetrating the offences through his companies Envy Asset Management and Envy Global Trading, when no nickel had ever been bought or sold.
The founder and chairman of Vickers Venture Partners on Friday admitted that it was his first time falling prey to an investment scam. He said that he had earlier managed to avoid being scammed, adding that he could see the slip-ups and inconsistencies from people who tried to cheat him.
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Dr Tan, together with a fellow shareholder, some partners and staff members, have allegedly been swindled of US$19.2 million.
The funds were invested in Ng’s purported nickel business between October 2020 and January 2021, with the bulk coming from Dr Tan. One of the companies that he owns as a majority shareholder contributed US$14 million, and he personally invested US$1.5 million.
Separately, two of the funds that his group manages pumped in about US$14.1 million in Ng’s nickel business around that period.
“He could fool me, because he knew all the jargon, he knew what could possibly make this type of money,” said Dr Tan, a former oil trader. “I admit in this case, I was sold. He was skilful in what he did.”
Dr Tan was allegedly led to believe that Ng’s company Envy Global Trading was buying nickel at low prices and selling the metal for a profit. Ng had picked a metal that was selling at very low prices a few years ago, but subsequently rocketed; the nickel market condition also corroborated with his account.
The funds that Dr Tan and his associates invested were purportedly used to help finance the purchases before the sellers paid up.
Dr Tan said that he could understand how Ng would have difficulty as a “small shot” borrowing money to fund trades with values that ran into the millions.
The first two contracts showed that there was a return of about 17 per cent for him, while the third had a 15 per cent return.
The 17 per cent return, Ng had told Dr Tan, was a rate only Envy’s staff enjoyed, but it was extended to the venture capitalist. The accused claimed that he was not taking a cut from Dr Tan because they would be investing in other companies.
Dr Tan trusted Ng, who had agreed to invest US$5 million in a Vickers fund, as well as US$13 million in one of the Vickers companies.
However, Ng had never asked Dr Tan to reciprocate and invest in his nickel business. He had also never initiated conversation about his trades before Dr Tan asked how he consistently made profits.
“I never expected this to be a Ponzi. Why would someone doing a Ponzi lock up money for 12 years he can’t touch,” testified the witness, referring to Ng’s investment in his venture capital fund with an investment horizon of over a decade.
Moreover, the venture capitalist had done due diligence on Ng’s nickel business, including enquiring with the people who had invested in it and said that there were no problems with withdrawing the funds.
Dr Tan’s trust in Ng, as well as the due diligence he had done, gave him confidence. This resulted in two of the Vickers funds investing a total of US$14.1 million in the nickel business.
“It was very painful,” said the witness, who had spent months with Ng, before it all imploded. “Many lives have been destroyed, I now realise there were so many people (who) invested their life savings.”
He had lost “a lot of money”. As for the funds his group managed, they posted a record year despite the losses from the scam.
“The worst type of loss was loss due to fraud,” said Dr Tan, whose funds had made investment losses as well.
He added that if he had known there was no nickel, he would “absolutely” not have invested in Ng’s business. “If he does not have nickel, what am I investing in? Just thin air?”
Even if Ng amended a key term in the investment, Dr Tan testified that he would have to reassess the deal.
“If there were any changes to the contract or deal in any shape or form, we must reassess (the risks and rewards), however minute, and not having nickel at all is so major I can’t even describe it.”
In January 2021, after the investments were made in Ng’s business, Dr Tan heard that one of Envy entities was put on the regulator’s alert list. Dr Tan thought there was some misunderstanding.
After making a statement with the Commercial Affairs Department in February, Dr Tan was none the wiser about what was wrong with Envy.
Subsequently, Dr Tan realised that it was much more than a misunderstanding – it was something more serious. “There was a serious stench of fraud. I didn’t know what extent that fraud was.”
The lesson he had learnt: “We realised one thing, that we cannot beat a fraudster because the playing field is not a level field”.
Until today, Dr Tan said he could not reconcile the Ng he knew with the one who has been accused of fraud.
“I cannot connect the two people. Because the Yu Zhi I knew was very different from what he is said to have done. I can’t quite comprehend. But I don’t understand his motives as well, what could motivate him and hurt so many people in the process.”
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