MAS fines investor $200,000 for non-disclosure of shareholding interests

This is the first civil penalty action for such breaches of the SFA.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has slapped investor Lim Soon Fang with a $200,000 civil penalty for failing to disclose, and giving false information about, his shareholding in Asia-Pacific Strategies Limited (ASIL), according to a press statement.

This is the regulator’s first civil penalty action for breaches of shareholding disclosure requirements under Part VII of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) since the regime was extended to these contraventions in November 2012.

MAS accused Lim of failing to notify ASIL that he had become a substantial shareholder of the company on four occasions; of failing to notify ASIL of changes in his company interests on 32 occasions; of non-disclosing that he had ceased to be a substantial shareholder on five occasions; and for lying about his transaction volume in company shares and shareholding on three occasions.

In October 2013, Lim became a substantial shareholder of ASIL. From that period until October 2014, he actively traded in ASIL shares resulting in changes in his company interests which had to be disclosed under the SFA, MAS noted.