2013 penny stock crash mastermind John Soh faces 36 years’ jail, co-conspirator Quah Su-Ling gets 20 years’

The episode has been described as Singapore’s largest-ever case of share manipulation.

John Soh Chee Wen — the accused mastermind of the 2013 penny stock crash — and his co-conspirator Quah Su-Ling were sentenced with 36 years’ and 20 years’ jail respectively.

Soh and Quah were on May 5 found guilty of several of the charges they were facing under three groups of criminal conspiracy including for forced trading, price manipulation and deception.

Soh was convicted of 180 of the 188 charges he faced while Quah was found guilty for 169 of the 178 charges she faced.

The two “long-term partners in both business and personal affairs” had been on trial since March 2019 for orchestrating the manipulation of three penny stocks, Blumont Group, Asiasons Capital and LionGold Corp — collectively known as BAL — between 2012 and 2013. The stocks crashed in October 2013 and destroyed some $8 billion in market value.

The episode has been described as Singapore’s largest-ever case of share manipulation and involved 189 securities trading accounts held with 20 financial institutions and 60 individuals and companies.

The prosecution had previously sought 40 years' and 19-and-a-half years jail for Soh and Quah respectively.

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