Singapore family office staff accused of misusing $74 million by wealthy Chinese
By Yoojung Lee
(Bloomberg) — An ultra-high net worth Chinese businessman is suing four former staff in Singapore for allegedly misappropriating $74 million (US$56 million), underscoring the vulnerabilities of certain family office structures.
Zhong Renhai, the owner of Lee Fung International Pte Ltd (LFI) and family office Panda Enterprise Pte in Singapore, accused four former employees of creating fraudulent transactions and fabricating documents to misuse funds, according to a high court document.
A judge upheld a worldwide order to freeze the assets of the employees, who were based in Singapore, along with a British Virgin Islands entity controlled by them.
The Chinese businessman discovered that the staff allegedly misappropriated the money from LFI and his family office in December 2023, which led to the removal of the four by January last year. External forensic accountants later found that $74 million had been allegedly paid out from Zhong's accounts. Nikkei reported the court case earlier.
Family offices are gaining traction globally, yet many lack the same level of checks and balances practiced at banks. The city-state stepped up scrutiny of financial institutions after a multi-billion dollar money laundering scandal.
Singapore has been seeking to become a top wealth hub, attracting more than 2,000 single family offices as of the end of 2024.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business of Fashion
6 minutes ago
- Business of Fashion
Surprise! Why Apparel Prices Are Actually Falling
A little over a month into President Donald Trump's new tariff regime, the verdict is in: Clothes are getting cheaper. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday reported that apparel prices fell 0.4 percent between April and May, and were down 0.9 percent from a year prior. Inflation overall was estimated at 2.4 percent, in line with expectations. The data likely reflects pain delayed rather than avoided. Many retailers stocked up before Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on all imports, as well as an additional 30 percent levy on Chinese goods. Inflation figures also don't account for hikes that were announced but have yet to kick in. E.l.f. Cosmetics, LVMH, Nike and many others have said they plan to raise prices this summer. But the downward trend speaks to another truth about fashion's approach to pricing: The tariffs came at a time when brands were already working overtime to convince reluctant shoppers to keep spending. Rather than pass along costs, many companies' instinct is to explore every other option first. Urban Outfitters, Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch fall in that camp, saying they'll hold off on increasing prices even as they warn of shrinking margins. And for brands that engaged in years of post-pandemic price hikes, discounting even in the face of tariffs is still the best way to win back customers. Many luxury labels fall in this category, though plenty of mass-market brands are more expensive than they used to be, too. 'Retailers don't want to scare consumers or the market and suggest they're [raising] prices,' said Sonia Lapinsky, partner at retail consultancy Alix Partners. 'They're refraining as much as possible, they're not talking as much as possible.' Fashion's Falling Prices Apparel prices fell month on month between April and May, and nearly 1 percent in May year on year. The rate of price increases began slowing in 2023, and then declining early this year. This doesn't account for the full impact of tariffs on retailers' margins, which won't be realised until late summer or fall. That is when prices could get 'wildly volatile,' because of brands' individual approaches to pricing in the face of rising costs, said Michael Prendergast, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group. Some brands will look at this moment as a time to sacrifice margin to gain market share. With expanded margins, thanks to years of rising prices, many retailers are well positioned to absorb the impact. For now brands are doing everything in their power to keep people shopping and drive traffic, said Lapinsky, including upping discounting throughout April and May. Beyond categories like footwear that are highly susceptible to tariffs, brands will get specific about where they raise prices — fashion items may have elasticity, but shoppers would see a more obvious change in basic pieces, for example. Likely, after years of experimenting, brands have learned where their limits are. Planning for the rest of the year is filled with extra risk. Raise prices too much, and kill demand; plan for lower demand and potentially end up with empty shelves. That conundrum will likely come to a head for retailers during back-to-school shopping season. 'We're likely going to have an inventory issue on one end or the other,' said Lapinsky. 'Either we've got inventory in the stores that had to be priced at a point that they can't clear, or retailers may have pulled back and just don't have what customers are looking for.' Mood-Swing Shopping As they make inventory and pricing decisions for the rest of the year, retailers are watching consumer sentiment closely to try to determine whether they'll have the appetite to spend — and to what degree. 'You have to be cautious of exactly what inventory you're taking in, given consumer sentiment and how much they're shopping,' said Jessica Ramírez, co-founder of research firm The Consumer Collective. 'If you're just churning inventory that isn't a priority on your consumers' list, you're not going to do very well.' After falling to its lowest point in years, consumer sentiment got a slight boost in May. Part of that may be thanks to a comparative settling of the news cycle from April, when Trump first announced, and then temporarily paused, levies. But even just the feeling of rising prices and uncertainty can put a damper on shoppers' moods. Plus, more generally, price inflation in other categories will have an impact on consumer appetite to spend on apparel. 'Food and gas prices affect discretionary income,' said Prendergast. 'Gas prices are coming down, that's the good news. The not great news is food continues to rise — that pinches the wallet.' Trouble is Brewing Elsewhere The picture of softened demand is clearer in China, the second biggest fashion market after the US. Earlier this month, China reported consumer prices overall — not just apparel — fell for a fourth consecutive month in May, raising concerns that deflation is here to stay. Meanwhile, wage shrinkage and property value slumps continue. It's already having an impact on fashion, reported Reuters: Amid raging price wars, stores are putting merchandise on steep discount — $30 for a Coach handbag at Super Zhuanzhuan, for example. US-based apparel companies operating in China will face more uncertainty in an already challenged market. Trouble abroad could even be felt back home. 'The more that's happening in the macro, the more concerned the consumer in America is going to be,' said Lapinsky. 'We don't see any end to that in the next few months.' Though, starting in March, China began ramping up fiscal stimulus. And much remains to be seen about how the Chinese consumer will react, said Ramírez. Fashion is still in a wait-and-see phase when it comes to price hikes and planning, but the moment of truth could be getting closer. 'Overall retailers are underplaying the effect of what tariffs and inflation are going to do to their sales and EBITDA,' said Prendergast. 'We're advising clients, take the next two years of your revenue and margin plans down, like, take them down and again, use this opportunity to cut costs internally.'
Forbes
7 minutes ago
- Forbes
Japan's Largest Companies 2025: Rare Interest Rate Hikes Lead To A Volatile Year
Toyota and other Japanese automakers have been hampered by Trump's tariffs. Getty Images Japan's stock market has been on a roller-coaster ride over the past 12 months. Its benchmark Nikkei index reached an all-time high in July 2024, driven by corporate governance reforms and robust company earnings, then crashed more than 25% in less than four weeks on a surprise interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan. Though the index rebounded shortly after, its gains were trimmed in early 2025 as U.S. President Donald Trump ignited his trade war. Japan has 180 companies on this year's Forbes Global 2000 ranking of the world's largest public corporations, down slightly from 182 in 2024, making it the third most-represented country after the U.S. and China. The list weighs market value, revenue, profit and assets equally, using the latest 12 months of data as of April 25. Toyota Motor, the highest-ranking Japanese company, is in a sector particularly hard hit by Trump's sweeping tariffs. The U.S. in early April imposed a 25% tax on foreign-made cars, followed in early May by the same levy on auto parts, a blow to Japan's mainstay industry and its export-led economy. The world's top-selling carmaker slipped three places to No. 14 after its stock tumbled 22% over the year. Though its revenues and profits in the year through December were roughly flat at $309 billion and $34 billion, respectively, Toyota warned that the tariffs would result in a $1.3 billion hit to operating profit in April and May. Some of Toyota Motor's peers suffered even steeper declines. Nissan Motor, long plagued by deteriorating financials, sank 366 spots to No. 707 after its profit in the 12 months through December plunged 76% to $702.6 million. After the cut-off date for the list, the automaker posted a $4.7 billion loss for the three months ended March. Nissan is struggling to restructure after merger talks with larger rival Honda Motor collapsed in February. The failed tie-up, together with the tariffs, relegated Honda to No. 117 from No. 91 as its stock fell 17% over the year. Mitsubishi Motors, whose biggest shareholder is Nissan, tumbled 379 places to No. 1,562 as its shares skidded almost 10%. Companies in the AI space were a bright spot. Billionaire Masayoshi Son's SoftBank investment powerhouse climbed 331 spots to No. 130 on a 425% surge in 12-month profit through December to $5.6 billion, driven partly by increases in the value of portfolio companies such as ByteDance, the Chinese parent of TikTok. SoftBank is ramping up its AI bet, with plans to invest up to $30 billion in U.S.-based ChatGPT maker OpenAI while also investing $100 billion to build AI infrastructure stateside as part of its Stargate Project joint venture with OpenAI and Oracle. The AI boom also lifted Advantest, the world's largest semiconductor testing equipment maker by market share and a supplier to AI-chip giant Nvidia. It scaled 509 places to No. 1,231 as its profit in the year through March more than doubled to $1.1 billion on a 52% surge in sales to $5.1 billion. Other notable climbers included companies in the defense industry. IHI Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) were among the best performers on the Nikkei over the year as Japan ramped up military spending. IHI, an engineering company that makes everything from turbines for power plants to rocket systems for space travel, debuted on the Global 2000 at No. 1,349 after its stock skyrocketed 176%. A more than doubling in MHI stock elevated the company 75 spots to No. 372 while KHI vaulted 513 places to No. 1,331 on a 52% share increase.
Bloomberg
12 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Precious Metals Gains Pushing Several African Currencies Higher
A surge in the price of precious metals is helping several African currencies to rebound from a weak start to the year. The Zambian kwacha is up about 8% so far in June, the best performance globally. It's followed by the Tanzanian shilling, up 4% this month, and not far after by the Nigerian naira, up 3.1%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
