The Edge Singapore apologises to ministers over POFMA-ed report relating to GCB transaction

SINGAPORE: Business publication The Edge Singapore issued an apology on Tuesday (24 December) to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng for reproducing a Bloomberg article titled Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy. The article, which focused on Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions in Singapore, was deemed to contain falsehoods and was the subject of a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) correction order issued on 23 December. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) highlighted multiple inaccuracies in the article, which it claimed contained false statements of fact. The piece alleged a lack of transparency and checks in GCB transactions and implied that Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan engaged in property dealings aimed at avoiding scrutiny, including in relation to potential money laundering.

Ministers Threaten Bloomberg with Legal Action

Mr Shanmugam and Dr Tan, who were explicitly mentioned in the article, described the allegations as libellous. On 16 December, just four days after the article was initially published on Bloomberg, the ministers announced their intention to issue Letters of Demand to Bloomberg and other outlets that reproduced the article in part or in full. On Tuesday, The Edge Singapore acknowledged its error, admitting that the article and a related Facebook post it shared perpetuated false and baseless claims. The Facebook post read: “Bloomberg says more people buy homes with trusts, hiding owners’ identities.” In a formal statement, The Edge expressed:

"We recognise that the Article and the Post meant and were understood to mean that Mr K. Shanmugam took advantage of there being no checks and balances or disclosure requirements in selling his property in a non-transparent manner and that Mr Shanmugam wanted to hide his transaction and avoid scrutiny, including about the possibility of money laundering."

The publication extended its apologies to the ministers for the “distress and embarrassment” caused by the article and post. It also confirmed that the article and Facebook post had been removed and undertook not to publish similar allegations in the future.

Falsehoods Identified by the Ministry of Law

On Monday (23 December), Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister for Law, Edwin Tong, issued POFMA correction directions to several publications, including The Edge Singapore, Bloomberg, The Independent Singapore, and The Online Citizen (TOC). MinLaw stated that their articles contained alleged falsehoods related to GCB transactions. Despite the correction orders, several aspects of Bloomberg’s original article, published on 12 December, remain undisputed by MinLaw. The article highlighted the increasing use of trusts in GCB transactions, a practice that reportedly obscures the identities of buyers. GCBs, a highly exclusive property class in Singapore, are often viewed as symbols of prestige and wealth. MinLaw identified multiple false claims in Bloomberg's article about GCB transactions. MinLaw said the article inaccurately stated that no public government records exist for GCB sales if caveats are not lodged. It falsely suggested that ultimate beneficial owners in GCB transactions involving trusts or shell companies are not required to disclose their identities to the government. MinLaw refuted claims that GCB transactions lack government checks on the identities of beneficial owners and that combating money laundering rests solely with property agents or service providers. Additionally, MinLaw said the article wrongly implied that the lack of transparency in GCB dealings facilitates money laundering by wealthy individuals, including Ministers.

What MinLaw didn’t POFMA

However, MinLaw did not dispute several key points raised in Bloomberg's article. The article reported that Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng bought a GCB in Brizay Park for S$27.3 million in 2023. It also highlighted a S$50 million purchase of a GCB in Holland Rise by Wang Qianqian, a China-born Singapore citizen, and a S$88 million purchase of a GCB in Queen Astrid Park by UBS Trustees, on behalf of the Jasmine Villa Settlement, which was previously owned by Minister Shanmugam. The article noted that nearly half of all GCB purchases by value in 2024 lacked property caveats, making these transactions harder to track. GCB transactions from January to early December 2024 totalled S$1.1 billion, with the median sale price nearly doubling since 2019, reaching around S$36 million in 2024. It also reported a growing trend of wealthy buyers using shell companies, trusts, and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for privacy in GCB transactions, as well as an increasing demand from Chinese buyers seeking undeveloped plots for future customization. The article further cited experts, including William Wong and Mabel Tan, who observed these shifts in market behaviour, and highlighted that Singapore imposes a 65% upfront tax on residential property purchases through trusts, with certain exceptions for refunds. Lastly, the article compared Singapore's practices with those in the UK and New York, noting efforts to combat money laundering and increase property transaction transparency.