Singapore Minister Charged With Corruption Resigns

Singapore’s Transport Minister, S. Iswaran charged with corruption has resigned. The anti-corruption agency said he was charged with 27 offences in a graft investigation.

Report says it is one of the highest-profile cases involving a minister in the Asian financial hub in decades.

In a resignation letter dated Tuesday but published by the prime minister’s office, Iswaran said he rejected the charges and “will now focus on clearing my name.”

Meanwhile, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said Iswaran, who was arrested in July last year, was alleged to have obtained kickbacks worth S$384,340.98 ($286,181) from property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, partly to advance Ong’s business interests.

Charge sheets show the favours includes tickets to football matches, musicals, a flight on Ong’s private plane, and tickets to the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Iswaran was advisor to the Grand Prix’s steering committee, while Ong owns the rights to the race.

Iswaran faces a total of 27 charges, including corruption and obstructing the course of justice, the CPIB said in a statement.

If convicted of corruption, he could be fined up to S$100,000 or face seven years in prison.

There was no immediate response to emails seeking comment from Ong’s office. The property tycoon was also arrested in July as part of the corruption probe. He has not been charged.

The case has gripped Singapore, a major Asian financial hub that prides itself on a squeaky clean government that is rarely affected by graft and scandals involving political leaders.

Report says Civil servants are highly paid to discourage corruption. The annual salary of many cabinet ministers exceeds S$1 million.

In 2022, Transparency International ranked the city-state the fifth least corrupt country in its International Corruption Perceptions Index of 180 nations.

REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere