Indian-origin Singaporean & Briton deny charges of fraud in cases linked to collapsed payments firm Wirecard

Singapore, Jul 31 (PTI) A Indian-origin Singaporean and a Briton on Monday denied charges of falsifying documents related to millions of dollars held in escrow accounts linked to collapsed German payments firm Wirecard AG.

R Shanmugaratnam, 57, and Briton James Henry O'Sullivan, 48, denied the charges and claimed trial in a hearing before District Judge Kow Keng Siong in the Singapore State Courts, Channel News Asia reported.

Shanmugaratnam is the director and sole shareholder of Citadelle Corporate Services, a local company providing accounting and auditing services. He was in charge of the company's operations and was its signatory, with access to its Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) bank accounts.

He was charged of falsifying letters from Citadelle to various parties, including Wirecard AG and its subsidiaries as well as auditors in Germany and Ireland.

The letters, purportedly prepared between 2016 and 2018, stated that large sums of money ranging from EUR 20 million (USD 22 million) to EUR 328 million (USD 362 million) were held by Citadelle in escrow accounts when in fact, these sums did not exist.

Opening its case on Monday, the prosecution said it would proceed on 13 out of 14 charges for Shanmugaratnam and five out of seven charges for O'Sullivan. The remaining charges were stood down for the time being.

O'Sullivan's charges are for abetting by instructing Shanmugaratman to issue the letters.

The alleged offences occurred against the background of Wirecard's collapse in Germany.

Several individuals were arrested and are facing prosecution in Germany for offences including fraud and market manipulation. PTI GS GRS AKJ GRS GRS