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Singapore’s corruption watchdog has issued a notice of arrest to one of the city-state’s most high-profile property tycoons, expanding a rare operation that has embroiled a minister and dented its reputation as a clean place to do business.
Ong Beng Seng, managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, is providing information to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau about his interactions with transport minister S Iswaran, the company said on Friday. No charges have been filed against Iswaran or Ong, who posted bail of S$100,000 ($75,500) and will surrender his passport when he returns to the city from a trip.
Ong’s arrest notice follows a statement by the CPIB on Wednesday that Iswaran was assisting its investigation into a case, its most serious involving a cabinet minister in more than three decades.
Singapore’s officials are some of the best paid in the world and the government touts its reputation for a zero-tolerance approach to graft. The country is ranked the fifth-least corrupt country in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index.
“The ruling PAP [People’s Action party], which has governed Singapore since 1959 have always prided themselves on good governance and incorruptibility, among other virtues,” said Eugene Tan, associate professor of law and political commentator at Singapore Management University.
“Domestically [the probe] has certainly got many tongues wagging.”
Ong, who founded Hotel Properties in 1980, is known for his role in helping to strike a deal with Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone to bring a grand prix to the country in 2007. The tycoon and his wife Christina’s net worth was valued at $1.75bn last year, according to Forbes.
Shares in Hotel Properties, which has interests in hotels and properties in 15 countries under brands including the Four Seasons and Intercontinental, shed as much as 7 per cent on Friday morning, hitting their lowest level in about a month before closing 2.6 per cent lower.
Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday that he had asked transport minister Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigation was concluded. Lawrence Wong, deputy prime minister, added on Thursday that Singapore had “always upheld a clean and incorrupt system of government”.
The investigation comes ahead of an expected handover of power between Lee and Wong and elections that must be held no later than November 2025.
An email sent to Iswaran’s government account returned with a message that he was on leave. The transport ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hotel Properties said Ong was “co-operating fully with CPIB and has provided the information requested”. It added that the company’s nominating committee had assessed that Ong could continue in his role as managing director while the investigation was under way, but would “continue to reassess [his] suitability”.
A spokesperson for Ong declined to provide further information.
