The founding family of Ocean Tankers and collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading have seen their spending capped at SGD 10,000 ($7,500) per week by the High Court of Singapore.
The move is part of an order that also freezes as much as $3.5bn of their assets around the world, Bloomberg reported.
Lim Oon Kuin and his two children can also spend “a reasonable sum” on legal advice, as well as other representations, on top of these weekly living expenses, according to recently filed court orders.
The order also states that before spending any money, Lim and his two children – son, Lim Chee Meng Evan, and daughter, Lim Huey Ching – must tell the lawyers representing the liquidators of Hin Leong where the money comes from, according to the court documents.
In late May, the High Court accepted a request from Hin Leong’s liquidators to freeze up to $3.5bn of the global assets of Lim and his two children.
Under the asset freeze, the Lims are not allowed to dispose of assets that include their properties in Singapore and Australia, insurance policies, shares in companies as well as country club memberships.
Hin Leong’s creditors and liquidators have reportedly been able to recoup just $270m from the collapsed company, which in October last year had total liabilities in excess of $4bn.
The court’s asset freeze order may be one of the biggest such injunctions in Singapore’s history and may pave the way towards debt recovery for more than 20 bank creditors, Bloomberg reported.
Last year, police in Singapore charged Lim, now 79, with two counts of abetment of forgery for the purpose of cheating.
An additional 23 forgery-related charges were levied against him at the end of April. The next hearing for the case has been set for 24 June.
In recent months, a number of Hin Leong-related assets have been sold including its 41% stake in Singapore's Universal Terminals to Jurong Port.
In addition, one-third of the roughly 150 ships owned by the family's Xihe Group has been sold for more than $400m, according to data from VesselsValue.
