What we know so far about the missing lawyer and S$33 million

SINGAPORE — A whopping S$33.2 million was reported missing from the escrow account of Singapore-listed engineering firm Allied Technologies on Thursday (May 23).

One of the key subjects of the investigation is Mr Jeffrey Ong Su Aun, a senior lawyer from law firm JLC Advisors, whose whereabouts are still unknown.

The law firm was engaged by Allied Technologies to hold its escrow account, a means for solicitors to safe-keep a buyer’s funds during the sale of property.

Mr Ong, who also goes by the alias Wang Ci' An, might have given an unauthorised instruction to pay out the missing money, Allied said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday. It also said it was making a police report on the incident.

Police told TODAY that investigations into the matter are ongoing. TODAY has sought comment from both the Law Society and the Ministry of Law for updates.

Here is what we know so far about the 42-year-old managing partner of JLC Advisors, whose areas of legal expertise include litigation and dispute resolution, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

CLASS OF 2002

Mr Ong began his legal career after graduating with a Bachelors of Laws in 2002 from the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law.

He completed the Postgraduate Practical Course in Law conducted by the Board of Legal Education Singapore in 2003, and was admitted to the Singapore Bar as an advocate and solicitor in May that year.

In February 2006, he was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court, England and Wales.

A profile about Mr Ong on the JLC Advisors’ website stated that he started his legal career in the area of commercial litigation and dispute resolution before expanding his practice to cover contentious restructuring and corporate advisory work.

Before joining JLC Advisors, Mr Ong practised in the litigation and dispute resolution department of law firms J Koh & Co and Allen & Gledhill, before moving on to practise in the dispute resolution and restructuring department at DLA Piper Singapore.

Throughout the course of his legal career, he has represented a long list of clients in disputes that involved multi-million-dollar transactions.

Mr Ong’s resume, which is available on JLC Advisors’ website, stated that in one case, he acted for an unnamed company in a US$100 million (about S$140 million) claim against an international investment bank involving misrepresentation and mis-selling of complex financial and structured products.

CAREER AT JLC ADVISORS

It is not clear when Mr Ong joined JLC Advisors, but around August last year, Mr Ong was promoted to managing partner within the firm.

The firm also employs Mr Jeffrey Chan, a one-time Deputy Solicitor-General at the Attorney-General's Chambers, as a principal senior consultant.

In a press release about his new designation, Mr Ong said then that he was hoping to build upon the work of his predecessor, Mr Desmond Ong, and the firm’s founding partner, Mr Vincent Lim.

He added that he wanted to bring in the right people to drive the firm’s growth in “core areas of practice” where they had already developed a recognised expertise. These are mainly areas in commercial litigation, international arbitration and corporate transactional work.

“The value of a law firm is in its people,” he also said.

OTHER COMMERCIAL INVOLVEMENTS

Apart from serving as a lawyer, Mr Ong also sat on the board of several companies.

In March 2012, he was appointed as an independent non-executive director of CW Group Holdings. The Cayman Islands incorporated company, which provides precision engineering and renewable energy solutions, is now in provisional liquidation.

Based on a 2013 document from the group and a report from Bloomberg, Mr Ong was also listed as an independent director of:

• Integra2000 (now known as Asiasons Capital)

• SNF Corporation (now known as Adventus Holdings)

• Enzer Corporation (now known as Vallianz Holdings)

• China PowerPlus

It is not known what Mr Ong’s present status is with these companies.

On May 20, just days before he was reported to have gone missing, Mr Ong announced his decision to resign as the independent director and acting non-executive chairman of Annica Holdings, citing personal reasons.

PAST CASES

The latest incident makes it the third such case in the last 12 years in which a lawyer has allegedly gone missing with large sums of money.

Here are two other rogue lawyers who remain at large more than a decade on:

David Rasif

• Allegedly made off with about S$11 million of his clients’ money in June 2006.

• Most of the money had been entrusted to him by an American couple who wanted to buy a bungalow off Holland Road.

• Mr Rasif left behind his three children, who include celebrity bodybuilder Tyen Rasif and her sister, actress and DJ Jade Rasif.

Zulkifli Mohd Amin

• Skipped town after allegedly embezzling more than S$10 million in November 2007.

• This sum was moved out of the account of his firm’s client over a 10-month period.

• Some of the money was reported to have come from a conveyancing deal.