SINGAPORE — Two former executives from offshore and marine company Seatrium and its subsidiary were charged in court on Thursday (March 28) with corruption offences involving the alleged payment of some S$59 million in bribes in Brazil. 

One of the two was also charged with obstruction of justice. 

The pair, Wong Weng Sun and Lee Fook Kang, each face five charges of conspiring to corruptly give gratifications to Guilherme Esteves de Jesus — a former consultant with Seatrium — to advance the business interests of the company’s subsidiaries in the South American country.

Seatrium was formed in 2023 after a merger between Keppel Offshore and Marine and marine and offshore engineering company Sembcorp Marine.  

Wong, 62, was president, executive director, and chief executive officer of Sembcorp Marine, as well as the managing director of Jurong Shipyard, a Seatrium subsidiary. 

Lee, 75, was senior general manager of Jurong Shipyard. Both are Singaporean.

In response to TODAY's queries, a spokesperson from Seatrium confirmed that both men are no longer employees with the company. 

CORRUPTION OFFENCES

In a press release on Thursday, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said that most of Wong and Lee’s charges were related to corruptly giving gratifications to de Jesus for the benefit of persons in Brazil, as inducements or rewards to advance the business interests of the company’s subsidiaries there. 

Wong and Lee were said to have given de Jesus:  

• Gratification of not more than US$2 million (S$2.7 million) in total on two occasions in 2009 to one or more Brazilian officials as an inducement to advance the business interests of Jurong Shipyard in Brazil 
• Gratification of not more than US$1,905,345 in total to one or more officers of Brazilian petroleum company Petroleo Brasileiro on four occasions between 2010 and 2012 as a reward to advance the business interests of Jurong Shipyard in Brazil
• Gratification of not more than US$1,169,590.64 to one or more Brazilian politicians in 2010 as an inducement to advance the business interests of Jurong Shipyard in Brazil
• Gratification of not more than US$300,000 to one or more Brazilian officials in 2010 as a reward to advance the business interests of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz (EJA), a Seatrium subsidiary
• In 2010, the pair also allegedly conspired to give de Jesus monetary rewards totalling up to 2.5 per cent of the contract sums associated with contracts relating to drilling rig units

For this last charge, these contracts were intended to be awarded by oil-rig supplier Sete Brasil Participacoes to EJA as a reward for assisting the subsidiary with winning these contracts. Between 2012 and 2014, gratifications not exceeding a total of about S$52.4 million — paid in three tranches in US dollars, euros, and Brazilian reals each — were allegedly given to de Jesus corruptly.

Besides corruption charges, Wong has also been charged with obstruction of justice. 

In 2014, he was said to have instructed two employees to remove an email sent by de Jesus, which contained evidence of bribes that de Jesus had given or intended to give others. 

Court documents named these two employees as Mr Siew Kam Onn and Mr Patrick Tan Lye Hock.

After being found guilty in 2020 by the Brazilian court of corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organisation, de Jesus was sentenced to 19 years and four months in jail. 

However, a filing by Seatrium with the Singapore Exchange last December stated that de Jesus was acquitted of all charges by the Brazilian Federal Lower Court.

De Jesus’ prosecution was connected to Operation Car Wash, launched in Brazil in 2014. It was the country’s biggest anti-graft crackdown, resulting in its former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being jailed.

DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENT BEING WORKED OUT

According to the AGC and CPIB, the Public Prosecutor is now in discussions with Seatrium concerning a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) regarding the alleged corruption offences that occurred in Brazil. 

Under a DPA, the Public Prosecutor can agree to defer a company's charges if it agrees to certain conditions.

In this case, Seatrium will be required to pay a financial penalty of US$110 million.

CPIB said a portion of this amount would be used to offset several settlement payments Seatrium had reached with Brazilian authorities — the Brazilian Attorney-General’s Office, Comptroller General of the Union, and Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil.

“The contents and terms of the DPA remain to be worked out and agreed upon by the Public Prosecutor and the company. 

“The DPA will also have to be approved by the General Division of the High Court, before it comes into force,” the press release stated.

Mr Low Cheong Yeow and Mr Eugene Quah of Matthew Chiong Partnership are representing Lee. Wong's lawyer is Mr Samuel Navindran of WongPartnership. 

The pair's lawyers requested an eight week adjournment to take their client's instructions. The prosecution did not object to this request. 

Lee is currently out on bail set at S$200,000 while Wong is out on bail of S$210,000. Their cases will appear before the court again on May 23. 

Anyone convicted of a corruption offence can be jailed for up to five years, or receive a fine of up to S$100,000, or both.

Those who are convicted of obstruction of justice can be jailed for up to seven years or fined, or receive both punishments.