S’pore firm previously involved in HDB projects among firms sanctioned by US in cybercrime probe
SINGAPORE – Tucked away in a corner on the fourth floor of an Ang Mo Kio industrial building is an electrical works company which was once involved in providing electrical engineering services to Housing Board estates.
Khoon Group, an investment holdings company, started as Khoon Engineering when Singaporean brothers Ang Jui Khoon and Jui Heok opened their business in May 1988.
Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and headquartered in Singapore, Khoon Group is now run by chief executive Ang Kok Kwang, Mr Ang Jui Heok’s nephew.
The company now finds itself in the crosshairs of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) over its links to Cambodian national Chen Zhi.
Khoon Group is one of 146 people or entities sanctioned by the Ofac on Oct 14 amid allegations of links to online scams and the laundering of stolen funds.
Chen, a China-born tycoon, is at the centre of a major cybercrime and anti-scam probe involving investigators in the US and Britain.
Hailing from Fujian, Chen heads Prince Group, a self-described multinational business conglomerate with projects in Cambodia that include resorts and hotels.
He is also the alleged mastermind of one of South-east Asia’s largest cybercrime organisations.
The probe led to the largest seizure to date in the US Department of Justice’s history.
The authorities in the US, where Chen was charged in absentia in a court in New York, have seized at least US$15 billion (S$19.5 billion) worth of bitcoin.
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All assets belonging to those on the sanctions list that are in the US or in the possession of US officials and other people will be blocked and reported to Ofac.
Any entities that are 50 per cent or more owned, directly or indirectly, by those on the sanctions list will also be blocked in the US. The sanctions also prohibit any transaction in the US with those on the list.
Khoon Group on Oct 15 issued a statement denying any involvement with Chen.
“None of the company or its subsidiaries, or their respective directors and members of the senior management are involved in the alleged activities which led to the sanctions.
“The company preliminarily expects that the sanctions do not have any material adverse impact on the business operations of the Group,” said Khoon Group.
The Straits Times found that Chen, who remains at large, is the controlling shareholder of Khoon Group and all its subsidiaries.
Checks of company records, including multiple annual filings – the most recent dated June 2025 – stated that Khoon Group’s ultimate holding company is a British Virgin Islands-incorporated firm named Southern Heritage Limited.
Chen owns Southern Heritage, of which he is listed as the sole director.
According to a share purchase agreement seen by ST, Chen had acquired 550 million shares, which represent 55 per cent of Khoon Group, from the Hong Kong-listed firm on Jan 27, 2023.
He paid HK$152.5 million (S$25.5 million) to take control of the firm through Southern Heritage, a company sanctioned by Ofac in the same probe on Oct 14.
Khoon Group had previously claimed it handled multiple projects awarded by HDB in filings seen by ST.
In a 2019 document detailing its corporate history, Khoon Group said it had undertaken a public housing project in Bukit Batok involving 4,186 flats in 2018.
In 2012, the group said it undertook its first public housing project in Choa Chu Kang with a contract value exceeding $10 million.
In a 2024 Facebook post, the group said some of the projects it was involved in – including those in Sengkang, Tampines and Jurong West – received recognition at the HDB Awards 2024.
The group is said to have provided mechanical and electrical services work to public housing estates.
In one such document, Khoon Engineering referenced its company history by showcasing HDB projects it had taken on, including estates in Punggol North, Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang.
In at least two online platforms, Khoon Group claimed its projects powered one in five HDB units at its peak. ST could not verify those claims.
When presented with the findings, HDB said: “HDB does not have any direct contractual dealings with Khoon Group Limited or its subsidiaries at present.
“In fact, our last direct contractual dealing with Khoon Engineering Contractor Pte Ltd was more than two decades ago, and it was for electrical works undertaken at a housing development.”
The Ministry of National Development told ST that its statutory boards, which include the Building and Construction Authority and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, currently do not have any direct contractual dealings with Khoon Group or its subsidiaries.
A February 2023 document seen by ST suggested that Khoon Group was actively engaging Chen after he invested in the company.
The group told him of public sector projects it was involved in.
It said that customers in the sector include construction contractors engaged by HDB for new building development or redevelopment projects, and local statutory bodies in Singapore for upgrading projects.
In the share purchase agreement seen by ST, Chen is stated to have viewed Khoon Group as an attractive investment due to its claimed track record in undertaking electrical engineering works in public residential developments initiated by HDB.
Executives quit
Mr Ang Kok Kwang and Mr Ang Jui Khoon became outright owners of Khoon Engineering on April 2, 2007, after Mr Ang Jui Heok transferred his shareholdings to his nephew.
Some time in January 2015, the firm undertook its first overseas project in Myanmar.
Khoon Group was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in July 2018 and by 2019, Khoon Engineering was absorbed as a subsidiary of the holding company.
ST visited Khoon Group’s office in an Ang Mo Kio industrial park around 2pm on Oct 23 but was told by an employee that Mr Ang Kok Kwang was not in the office.
The office insisted that the CEO was not available for comment.
At 3.30pm, ST saw him leaving the office and when approached, he said he would issue a statement in response to queries.
However, Khoon Group and Mr Ang Kok Kwang did not respond to ST’s queries. ST made several other attempts to reach out to the group, its CEO and chief financial officer Ken Lim Shi Ann between Oct 22 and Oct 25.
The firm had announced on Oct 22 on the Hong Kong bourse that its registered office, registrar and transfer agent services provider have resigned from Khoon Group.
The next day, it announced its non-executive director and chairwoman of the audit committee was also leaving the firm.
On Oct 24, Khoon Group’s auditor, RSM Hong Kong, said it would retire from its duties to the group following the sanctions imposed against both Chen, the controlling shareholder, and the firm.
“RSM has informed the company that the gravity of these designations creates a fundamental conflict with its ethical obligations and client continuance policies,” the auditor said, adding that continued association with Khoon Group is inappropriate in the light of the sanctions.
Shares of the Hong Kong-listed firm are down more than 50 per cent in the past month.
In the Oct 15 announcement, Khoon Group said it principally operates in Singapore and does not have any operations in the US and Britain, nor does it own any assets or property in the two countries.
Sanctioned firms
Aside from Khoon Group, the Ofac had sanctioned 17 other Singapore-registered firms.
Checks against the Singapore business registry showed Chen is directly linked to eight of the firms.
They are AlphaConnect Investments, AlphaConnect Investments II, Binary Properties, Drew Properties, Drew Properties II, Greenbay Properties, Huntsman Investments and Majesty Properties.
He is also linked to Singapore-registered Citylink Solutions as a director and shareholder.
The firm was not sanctioned, although another Cambodia-based firm with a similar name is on the sanctions list.
Chen’s case is not the first to see Singapore-registered firms dragged into the middle of a major criminal probe.
Following the arrests of 10 foreigners in 2023 in Singapore’s biggest money-laundering case, the authorities found that several of the suspects had incorporated firms which turned out to be shell companies.
They had also invested in legitimate firms.
Dubai property broker Su Jianfeng, one of those convicted in the $3 billion money-laundering case, had claimed to be the chief executive of a Singapore-registered firm.
But when asked in court about the business, he could not even pinpoint the office address.
A number of Singaporeans were hauled to court for allegedly helping the foreigners set up shell companies.
They include naturalised Singaporean Wang Junjie, a 42-year-old who moved here from China.
He has been handed 15 charges, including forgery and falsification of accounts, in connection with two of the foreigners.
Professor Lawrence Loh, director of NUS Business School’s Centre for Governance and Sustainability, said businesses from around the world are tapping Singapore’s strong reputation in good governance for their benefit.
These include even illegitimate parties such as scammers.
“In some ways, Singapore has a global advantage of being an easy place to do business and it is often hard to effectively sieve out the undesirable elements without strict rules that hit every business.
“So far, the cases do not seem to constitute a pattern of concern as the enforcement follow-ups have been swift and decisive.
“Perhaps the few incidents are a price to pay for Singapore to be well regarded as a good place for international business,” said Prof Loh.
ST has reached out to the Prince Group and Chen for comments.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
