Singapore charges 3 more suspects in Shell refinery oil heist
SINGAPORE: A Singapore court yesterday charged three men suspected of involvement in large-scale oil theft at Shell’s biggest refinery, days after bringing charges against 11 under an extensive probe by authorities in the city state.
The Singapore subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc first contacted the authorities in August 2017 about theft at its Pulau Bukom industrial site, just south of the country’s main island.
Police have seized millions of dollars in cash and a small tanker in the sting operation involving simultaneous raids across Singapore, one of the world’s most important oil trading centres and a major refinery hub.
Earlier this week, a Singapore court charged 11 men including eight Shell employees and two Vietnamese nationals related to the theft following a weekend raid arresting 17 people.
But the charges levelled against three additional suspects on Saturday have entangled Sentek Marine Trading Pte, one of Singapore’s biggest marine fuel suppliers, and the investigation found that one of two vessels used to transport the stolen oil products was managed by the firm.
Sentak Marine said in a statement two of the three suspects had been employees, one a marketing and operations manager and the other a cargo officer. It said both had been dismissed.
The role of the third, a Vietnamese national, was not immediately disclosed by the court or the companies.
A Shell spokeswoman said none of the men charged yesterday was an employee of the company.
The three are accused of receiving stolen property, with a combined value of S$896,444 (US$676,510.45), at Pulau Bukom site, where Shell has its largest refinery, according to court documents. — Reuters