Former Agritrade International CFO given additional cheating charge

SINGAPORE: The former chief financial officer of commodity firm Agritrade International was on Friday (Apr 8) given an additional charge of cheating, bringing the total number of charges against her to 33.

In the latest charge, Lulu Lim Beng Kim allegedly deceived a financial institution into believing that the consolidated financial statements for Agritrade International and its subsidiary companies for 2016 were audited.

She knew this to be false, said the police in a news release.

"By such manner of deception, Lim is believed to have dishonestly induced the financial institution to deliver money through a credit facility to Agritrade International," the police added.

The total sum involved in the latest charge is up to US$21.5 million in drawdowns from the credit facility.

Reuters reported in March 2020 that at least 20 banks have accused Agritrade International of fraud.

Lim now faces 33 charges – 32 of them are cheating-related, while the remaining charge is for abetting the falsification of accounts.

She was first charged in September last year with cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property. 

In November last year, she was given an additional 12 charges of cheating, before being handed six additional cheating charges in January this year.

She was handed 12 more charges last month for allegedly deceiving financial institutions fo US$245.5 million.

Investigations are ongoing, said the police.