DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Former Singapore minister is jailed for a year for receiving gifts in landmark case
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE — A Singapore court on Thursday sentenced a former minister to 12 months in prison for obstructing justice and receiving more than $300,000 worth of gifts, in the first jailing of a former cabinet member in a city-state famous for its clean governance. In a statement posted on the prime minister’s office website, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he was disappointed and saddened by the case. The case has shocked Singapore, which prides itself on its well-paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong and squeaky-clean governance. According to the prosecution, the value of the gifts Iswaran received totaled more than 400,000 Singapore dollars ($308,500). The former minister faced a total of 35 charges, two of which were corruption-related but were later amended to charges of receiving gifts while a public servant.

Persons: Iswaran, Lawrence Wong, ”, Wong, Ong Beng Seng, Ong, Vincent Hoong Organizations: English Premier League soccer, Singapore Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore

☆ Singapore court charges property billionaire Ong Beng Seng over scandal involving former minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Matt Clinch | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE — Singapore on Friday charged property billionaire Ong Beng Seng on two counts relating to the obstruction of justice and abetment, according to local media, in a case involving a former government minister. Ong, a Singapore-based Malaysian businessman, is the managing director of Singapore-listed hotel owner and operator Hotel Properties Limited . In July, Singapore's anti-graft agency issued an arrest notice for Ong as part of its investigation involving former Transport Minister S Iswaran. HPL's portfolio includes 38 hotels and resorts in 15 countries, operating under brands including Four Seasons, Intercontinental Hotels and Marriott International. Shares of HPL were halted ahead of the court hearing on Friday.

Persons: Ong Beng Seng, Ong, Singapore's, Iswaran, HPL, Mr Ong Organizations: Hotel Properties, Transport, Intercontinental Hotels, Marriott International Locations: SINGAPORE — Singapore, Singapore, Malaysian

☆ Ex-minister Iswaran pleads guilty in graft case that has gripped Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Singapore's former transport minister S. Iswaran arrives at the Supreme Court in Singapore September 24, 2024. The case has gripped the wealthy city-state which prides itself on having a well-paid and efficient bureaucracy as well as strong governance. Iswaran, who joined the cabinet in 2006, is the first Singaporean minister to be tried in court. Singapore's former Transport Minister S. Iswaran has pleaded guilty to receiving gifts while in office, local media reported, as proceedings began on Tuesday in a rare graft trial involving a state official in this Asian financial hub. The last corruption case involving a Singaporean minister was in 1986, when the national development minister was investigated for allegedly accepting bribes.

Persons: Iswaran, Ong Beng Seng, Ong, NewsAsia Organizations: Prosecutors, CNA, English Premier League soccer, Singapore Locations: Singapore

☆ Singapore's former transport minister S Iswaran slapped with 8 new charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

S. Iswaran, Singapore's transport minister, leaves the Singapore State Courts in Singapore, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Iswaran was charged with corruption, the latest development in the biggest political scandal to hit the city state in close to four decades. Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSingapore's former Transport Minister S Iswaran was handed eight additional charges in court on Monday, bringing the total number of charges against him to 35. In January, Iswaran was handed 27 charges, including corruption — he pleaded not guilty to those charges. A statement from Singapore's anti-graft watchdog said the alleged offences were committed between November 2021 and November 2022, and was in connection with Iswaran's official function as Minister for Transport.

Persons: Iswaran, —, Lum Kok Organizations: Courts, Bloomberg, Getty, Singapore, Transport Locations: Singapore, Australia, Brompton

☆ Singapore transport minister S Iswaran charged with corruption
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

S. Iswaran, Singapore's minister for transport, speaks to members of the media during a tour of Changi Airport in Singapore, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Starting April 1, Singapore will scrap its so-called vaccinated travel lanes and admit all vaccinated travelers who test negative before entering Singapore by air or sea and they will be exempted from quarantine or testing on arrival. Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSingapore's transport minister S Iswaran has been handed 27 charges following a months long probe by the country's anti graft agency, local media have reported. The minister had 24 charges of obtaining gratification as a public servant, two charges of corruption and one charge of obstructing the course of justice. On Jan. 9, Singapore's education minister Chan Chun Sing said in a parliamentary reply that a probe by Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had been completed and the case was being reviewed by the country's Attorney-General's Chambers.

Persons: Iswaran, Chan Chun Sing, General's Chambers Organizations: Changi Airport, Bloomberg, Getty, Singapore's, country's Locations: Singapore

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Could better data be a good thing for markets?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Wall Street's other two main indexes also dropped as better-than-expected retail sales data helped lift Treasury yields. Strong retail salesU.S. retail sales came in higher than expected for the last month of 2023 in a sign that holiday shopping picked up. Singapore minister face corruption chargesSingapore Transport Minister S Iswaran resigned as he faces corruption charges, the first for a cabinet minister in the island country.

Persons: Dow, Wall, Dow Jones, Jamie Dimon, Dimon, Donald Trump's, S Iswaran Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, Dow, Davos JPMorgan Chase, Economic, Citi, Nvidia Locations: New York City, Asia, China, Hong Kong, Davos, Switzerland, U.S, Singapore

☆ Why are political scandals and corruption in Singapore so rare?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Nessa Anwar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A series of political scandals has rocked Singapore in recent weeks, from corruption probes to inappropriate relationships among politicians. These challenges have affected the ruling party as well as the largest opposition party. Shortly after the Ridout saga, Singapore Transport Minister S Iswaran and hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng — known for bringing Formula One races to the city-state — were arrested as part of a corruption probe. Felix Tan, a political analyst in Singapore, explained the brouhaha over the recent scandals: "[Singapore is] almost a perfect exemplar for all countries to be. Watch the video to find out why corruption and political scandal are rare in Singapore, and what it means for the country.

Persons: Singapore's, S, Ong Beng, —, Felix Tan Organizations: Singapore Transport, Formula, Action Party, Workers ' Party Locations: Singapore

[1/2] Supporters of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) wait for their candidates at a nomination center ahead of the general elections in Singapore September 1, 2015. Analysts said the events may not bode well for the PAP, which has ruled Singapore uninterrupted since 1959. "These events appear to have created some public speculation about the PAP's approach to privilege, restraint, and authority," said National University of Singapore political scientist Chong Ja Ian. Prime minister-in-waiting Lawrence Wong said the government would be forthcoming about the corruption case - even if the information was damaging or embarrassing. But political scientist Walid Jumblatt Abdullah at Nanyang Technological University said Lee had enough political goodwill to ride this out.

Persons: Edgar Su, bode, Lee Hsien, Singapore's, Lee Kuan Yew, Chong Ja Ian, Lee, Lawrence Wong, Iswaran, Chong, Lee's, Walid Jumblatt Abdullah, Gillian Koh, Walid, Wong, Xinghui Kok, Robert Birsel Organizations: Action Party, REUTERS, National University of Singapore, Transport, Nanyang Technological University, Institute of Policy, Thomson Locations: Singapore, SINGAPORE

☆ Two Singapore lawmakers resign after admitting to 'inappropriate relationship'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister and leader of the People's Action Party (PAP), walks and talks with people in Singapore on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. Singapore's government was dealt a further blow on Monday, following the resignations of two lawmakers from the ruling party who admitted to an "inappropriate relationship" with each other. "Besides Mr Tan's recent unparliamentary language used, there is also the issue of his inappropriate relationship with fellow PAP MP Ms Cheng Li Hui. This is, in comparison, the more serious matter because he was the Speaker and she an MP, and there should not have not been a relationship," said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a press conference on Monday. Sudden resignations of senior PAP party members are rare in Singapore, where the ruling party has been in power since 1959, before the city-state's independence in 1965.

Persons: Lee Hsien Loong, Tan Chuan, Jin, Cheng Li Hui, Tan's, Ong Beng Seng, Iswaran, Lee, CPIB Organizations: People's Action Party, Party Locations: Singapore

SINGAPORE, July 17 (Reuters) - Two senior lawmakers from Singapore's ruling party have resigned over their "inappropriate relationship", Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday, the latest high-profile scandal in a city-state otherwise known for its political stability. Resignations of senior PAP members are rare in Singapore, where the party has been in power since 1959, before the country's independence in 1965. Separately, the opposition Workers' Party (WP) said on Monday it was looking into an "inappropriate exchange" between two of its senior members after a video surfaced online that appeared to show them holding hands in a restaurant. Events like these are unusual in Singapore, which prides itself on being corruption-free and holding politicians to high moral standards. Political scientist Chong Ja Ian at the National University of Singapore said Monday's developments were "relatively controllable issues" that would not affect Singapore's political stability.

Persons: Lee Hsien Loong, Lee, Tan Chuan, Jin, Cheng Li Hui, Cheng, Ong Beng Seng, Chong Ja Ian, Chong, Chen Lin, Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Action Party, Workers ' Party, WP, National University of Singapore, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore

☆ Singapore property tycoon cooperating with anti-graft agency - company
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng walks out of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau headquarters in Singapore July 12, 2023. SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - A Singapore-based property tycoon known for bringing Formula One races to the city-state is cooperating with the anti-graft agency in a case launched earlier this week involving the transport minister, his company said on Friday. The CPIB earlier this week said it had launched an investigation into Iswaran, but did not provide further details. The case is a rare high-level probe in Singapore, a top Asian financial hub that prides itself on a corruption-free government. Ong, who was travelling on Friday, will surrender his passport to the CPIB upon his return to Singapore, his company said.

Persons: Ong Beng Seng, Ho Peng Yew, Iswaran, Lee Hsien Loong, Ong, Christina Ong, Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Practices, Singapore Press Holding Media, Formula, Properties, Reuters, Concorde, London Stock, Forbes, Thomson Locations: Singapore, SINGAPORE, COMO, Malaysia

☆ Singaporean billionaire given arrest notice in anti-graft probe involving country's transport minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore's anti-graft agency issued an arrest notice for billionaire Ong Beng Seng as part of its investigation involving transport minister S Iswaran. Ong, who is managing director of Singapore-listed hotel owner and operator Hotel Properties Limited , has been asked to provide information on his interactions with Iswaran. In a filing, HPL said no charges have been filed against Ong and that he is fully cooperating with the agency. The company added that Ong has provided requested information, but is unable to provide further details at this point. HPL's portfolio includes 38 hotels and resorts in 15 countries, operating under brands including Four Seasons, Intercontinental Hotels and Marriott International.

Persons: Ong Beng Seng, supremo Bernie Ecclestone, Ong, HPL, Mr Ong Organizations: supremo, Marina, Circuit, Hotel Properties, Practices, Intercontinental Hotels, Marriott Locations: Singapore

☆ Singapore anti-graft agency probes transport minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Singapore's anti-graft agency has launched an investigation into a case involving the city-state's transport minister, a rare high-level probe in a country that prides itself on a government free from corruption. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said it was interviewing the minister, S Iswaran, who was "assisting" in a case, but did not provide further details. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday said he had "instructed Minister Iswaran to take leave of absence until these investigations are completed". The 61-year-old joined Lee's cabinet as a junior minister in 2006 and held the trade and communications portfolios before becoming transport minister in May 2021. Graft investigations involving ministers are rare in Singapore, where civil servants are paid handsomely to discourage corruption.

Persons: S Iswaran, Lee Hsien Loong, Iswaran, Lee, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore

Search resuls for: "S Iswaran"

13 mentions found