Singapore seeks 40 years in jail for stock market manipulator

Singapore prosecutors are seeking a 40-year jail sentence for John Soh Chee Wen for his role in the financial centers biggest case of stockmarket manipulation that caused almost US$8 billion in losses in 2013.

the Straits Times reported that prosecutors are also seeking a 19 1/2-year jail term for his ex-girlfriend, Quah Su-Ling. The pair were charged on all 10 charges of market manipulation brought against them under the Securities and Futures Act.

They were found to have manipulated the share prices of Blumont Group, Asiasons Capital and LionGold between August 2012 and October 2013, through a web of 187 trading accounts held with 20 financial institutions in the names of 58 individuals and companies, the report said.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Tan told the court there was a criminal organization involving more than 50 people, including chief executive officers and high-net-worth individuals that commanded more than half a billion dollars of funding deployed to manipulate the stock market, the Straits Times reported.