Sembmarine unit's ex-president charged with money laundering in Brazil

This was related to drilling rig contracts entered with Sete Brasil in 2012.

The former president of Sembcorp Marine’s (Sembmarine) Brazilian subsidiary Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz (EJA), Martin Cheah Kok Choon, has been charged with money laundering and corruption by Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office, according to a company statement.

The charges filed by the Ministério Público Federal (MPF) were related to the drilling rig construction contracts entered by Sembmarine’s subsidiaries with Sete Brasil in 2012.

Also read: A tale of two shipbuilders: Petrobras scandal rocks the boat for Singapore’s largest rig makers

An individual named Guilherme Esteves de Jesus was also charged with money laundering, as he is connected to companies whom the firm’s subsidiaries have engaged with as consultants in Brazil. According to the Sembmarine, such contracts have been indefinitely suspended.

With this, the company has expressed plans to lodge a further suspicious transaction report with the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force, noting that the charges were not made against EJA.

In a statement dated 8 July 2019, the company previously lodged a suspicious transaction report on Cheah, whose employment was terminated on 3 July that year.

This came after Pedro Jose Barusco, Petrobras’ former engineering manager, made statements in February 2015 revealing that illegal payments had been made in connection with contracts entered into by Petrobras and/or Sete Brasil.