Wong Leon Keat sentenced for deceiving brokerage firm in Singapore
Mr. Wong was charged with creating misleading appearances with respect to the price of Gaylin shares on 17 occasions from 11 November 2015 to 25 October 2016. He was also convicted for deceiving UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) by not disclosing his 50 percent beneficial interest in Gaylin shares bought using a UOBKH trading account belonging to another individual.
Wong Leon Keat was sentenced to a total of eight weeks’ imprisonment and a fine of $30,000 for false trading and deceiving a brokerage firm while trading in the shares of Gaylin Holdings Limited (Gaylin).
Mr. Wong was a director of WLA Regnum Pte Ltd and advised corporate entities on initial public offerings (IPO) on the mainboard or catalyst board of the SGX-ST. The firm advised Gaylin on its IPO in 2012 and Mr. Wong also, in his personal capacity, introduced investors to invest in Gaylin shares.
He helped several individuals manage their investments and had control over their UOBKH trading accounts. On 17 occasions, he bought Gaylin shares, in small quantities of 100 to 200 shares each time, through a UOBKH trading account belonging to one of these individuals. His trades caused Gaylin’s share prices to close 6.5 percent to 38.6 percent higher than they would have done otherwise.
In another UOBKH account, he and the account holder agreed to each hold 50 percent beneficial interest in the Gaylin shares bought in the account without disclosing his beneficial ownership to UOBKH.
His goal was to mislead the market, Gaylin, and the investors in order to protect his reputation, because his company WRPL had been involved in Gaylin’s IPO process and he had introduced investors to invest in Gaylin shares.
Mr. Wong was convicted in the wake of a joint investigation conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force. which followed a lead provided by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST) to the MAS.
Ms. Loo Siew Yee, Assistant Managing Director (Policy, Payments & Financial Crime) at MAS, said: “Mr. Wong’s conduct distorted the price of Gaylin shares on multiple occasions. False trading and unauthorized trading undermine public confidence in our capital markets. MAS will take firm action against persons who engage in such misconduct.”
Mr. Wong was charged with creating misleading appearances with respect to the price of Gaylin shares on 17 occasions from 11 November 2015 to 25 October 2016. He was also convicted for deceiving UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH) by not disclosing his 50 percent beneficial interest in Gaylin shares bought using a UOBKH trading account belonging to another individual.
In addition, Mr. Wong was charged with furnishing false information to the public officer investigating the case. He pleaded guilty to seven charges under section 197(1)(b) of the SFA and the charge under section 201(b) of the SFA. The remaining 11 charges were taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.
