Two ex-Shell employees who led fuel heist conspiracy get more than 23 years’ jail each

Two former Shell employees, who led a conspiracy to misappropriate fuel from the oil giant’s Pulau Bukom facility, were given stiff sentences on Aug 2 for their roles in the largest marine gas oil heist in Singapore’s history.

Muzaffar Ali Khan Muhamad Akram, 42, was sentenced to 26½ years’ jail, while Koh Choon Wei, 40, was handed 23½ years’ jail.

Muzaffar earned at least $1.3 million from his part in the racket, while Koh got at least $1 million. They spent the money on luxury watches, foreign property and cars.

The two were key members of a group of rogue employees who secretly siphoned off more than 200,000 tonnes of gas oil, worth more than $120 million, between August 2014 and January 2018.

Muzaffar and Koh had supervisory roles as shore loading officers in the same team. The team’s main duty was to load fuel products onto vessels berthed at the wharf.

At the time of their arrest, each was earning a monthly salary of about $6,000.

They had been recruited by the original mastermind of the scheme, Juandi Pungot. The latter, who obtained at least $5.6 million in criminal proceeds, was sentenced to 29 years’ jail in 2022.

Muzaffar was recruited between end 2007 and early 2008, and took part in the scheme from the start.

After Koh was recruited in mid-2015, Juandi and Muzaffar taught him how to approach captains of vessels to make arrangements to sell the stolen fuel.

Muzaffar and Koh brokered deals with the captains to ensure they had a steady stream of buyers, and planned the execution of the illegal loadings.

Muzaffar also recruited at least one other person into the scheme, and conspired with Juandi to pay bribes to surveyors to cover up their crimes.

In sentencing the pair, Justice Aedit Abdullah said deterrence is needed to protect Singapore’s reputation as a place to transact business and investment, including the supply of fuel.

The amount of misappropriated fuel and the gains obtained showed a high level of criminal responsibility on the part of Muzaffar, added the judge, noting that this was compounded by the sophisticated operations.

He said: “Muzaffar played a leading role in the criminal enterprise, though he was not at the absolute top of the ladder.”

Koh was less culpable than Juandi and Muzaffar, but his role was more significant than that of most of the other members of the team, added the judge.

The judge granted both men a deferment of their sentences – Muzaffar will start serving his on Nov 4, and Koh on Sept 30.

Muzaffar earlier pleaded guilty to 31 charges – 20 for abetting the commission of criminal breach of trust, five for using his criminal benefits, and six were corruption-related.

Koh pleaded guilty to 21 charges – 14 for abetting the commission of criminal breach of trust and seven for using his criminal benefits.

Six other members of the team have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from one year and four months to 16 years and four months.

Using various methods to evade detection, the rogue employees worked together to secretly pump gas oil onto vessels in exchange for payment.

They configured the flow of fuel through carefully planned routes in the piping system and ensured that multiple pumps were moving at the same time to mask the misappropriation.

The bunker meter and the orientation of surveillance cameras were also tampered with.

Juandi was said to have initiated the scheme in 2007 with his colleague Abdul Latif Ibrahim. The latter purportedly left the group in 2013 after a dispute over the splitting of the profits.

The others refused to work with Latif, who then transferred to another team. After his departure, the group took a hiatus, but resumed their illicit activities in 2014 and recruited more colleagues.

In early 2015, Shell began observing significant unidentified oil loss at Pulau Bukom. After multiple investigations, it made a police report on Aug 1, 2017.  

Latif and two members of the other team, Richard Goh Chee Keong and Mohd Ibrahim K. Abdul Majid, have been charged in connection with the misappropriation of fuel. Their cases are pending in court.

Eleven marine surveyors have also been sentenced to jail terms of between four weeks and 18 months for taking bribes to turn a blind eye to the misappropriation.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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