In Singapore's Parliament, a government minister described how a court had found that an American man, Anthony Thomas Price, used a succession of shell companies to occupy residential homes without paying for them, a pattern that now draws police, insolvency and corporate regulators into the matter. The episode touches an old and quiet bargain of modern life: a company may hold a lease on a family's house, but it cannot become a shield behind which the people who built it hide from what they owe. Authorities have been careful to say that no finding of wrongdoing has yet been made, and the inqu
Police Probe Man Over Alleged Cheating Via Shell Companies Used to Avoid Rent in Singapore
The law does not allow companies to be used as a cover for fraud.
Mark
Why did a landlord dispute end up in parliament?
Mimi
Because the October judgment suggested more than one unpaid lease. The court found shell companies were used to rent two other landed properties between 2019 and 2024, besides the Kembangan home.
Mark
So three properties in all?
Luke
Careful. The court found the pattern involving shell companies for those two others. The Kembangan return order is the concrete outcome. I'd keep those separate.
Mark
Who is investigating, and for what?
Mimi
Three bodies. Police for alleged cheating, the official receiver for possible fraudulent and wrongful trading, and ACRA for possible Companies Act breaches.
Luke
And all of those are possible or alleged. Mr Murali said nothing should be read as a view that an offence occurred.
Mark
Is renting through a company itself a problem?
Mimi
No. He said firms can lease homes, such as for posted employees, and the company is generally the one liable for rent.
Mark
Then where's the line?
Mimi
When the company is a cover for fraud or a way for its founders to dodge responsibility. Courts can disregard the corporate form then, and individuals can be made personally liable.
Luke
What we don't know is whether any charge follows. The Siglap case is still ongoing, and no investigation has reported a result.
Il Polso
- A court ruling exposed a pattern of shell companies used to occupy homes in Singapore without paying rent, and the revelation has landed in Parliament.
- Police, the official receiver and ACRA are each opening their own inquiries, pressing on possible cheating, fraudulent trading and Companies Act breaches.
- A cheating conviction could carry up to 10 years in jail, raising the stakes for everyone named in the proceedings.
- A Kembangan property has been returned to its landlords, while a Siglap case remains before the court and the probes are still open.
In Singapore's Parliament, a government minister described how a court had found that an American man, Anthony Thomas Price, used a succession of shell companies to occupy residential homes without paying for them, a pattern that now draws police, insolvency and corporate regulators into the matter. The episode touches an old and quiet bargain of modern life: a company may hold a lease on a family's house, but it cannot become a shield behind which the people who built it hide from what they owe. Authorities have been careful to say that no finding of wrongdoing has yet been made, and the inquiries are still unfolding. What remains is a question the law has always asked of corporate form: when does the paper stand between a person and their obligations, and when is it simply pierced to reveal who was really living there.
On Wednesday, Nov 4, Senior Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai told Parliament that police are investigating Mr Anthony Thomas Price, an American, for alleged cheating. The inquiry grew out of a court judgment published on Oct 7, which found that a company linked to Mr Price had been ordered to return a landed property in Kembangan to its landlords and pay the unpaid rent. The judge also found that he had used shell companies to rent two other landed properties between 2019 and 2024. The Kembangan dispute has since been settled, but a case over a Siglap home was still ongoing as of October.
The matter has drawn several agencies. The official receiver is looking into possible fraudulent and wrongful trading, while the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority is examining potential breaches of the Companies Act. Mr Murali stressed that investigations are ongoing and that nothing he said should be read as a view on whether an offence was committed.
He also reminded the House of the principle at stake. Companies can lawfully lease homes, such as for employees posted to Singapore, and are generally the party liable for the rent. But the law does not allow a company to become cover for fraud, and those who set it up can be held personally responsible for its debts. The court, he noted, can look past the corporate form when it is abused. For now, the inquiries remain open and the Siglap case is before the court.
In parliament on Wednesday, Nov 4, Senior Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai told members that police are investigating a man for alleged cheating. The man is Mr Anthony Thomas Price, an American, and the grounds came from a court ruling that identified what the judge described as a pattern: using shell companies to live rent-free in residential properties.
Mr Murali was answering parliamentary questions on how shell companies are used to rent homes and avoid paying for them. Those questions followed a judgment dated and published on Oct 7. In it, a company used by Mr Price was ordered to return a landed property in Kembangan to its landlords and to pay unpaid rent and other sums.
The judge went further. The court found that Mr Price had used shell companies to rent two other landed properties between 2019 and 2024. A court case over the Kembangan home has since been settled. Another case, involving a home in Siglap, was still ongoing as of October.
The police are not the only agency looking at the matter. The official receiver is investigating possible fraudulent trading and wrongful trading offences. The official receiver is a public officer appointed by the High Court, whose work includes investigating wrongful trading, acting as liquidator in compulsory winding-up cases, and overseeing private liquidators. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority is separately examining potential breaches of the Companies Act by the entities and individuals concerned.
The stakes are considerable. A person guilty of cheating faces up to 10 years' jail, and may also be fined, caned, or both. Mr Murali was careful to stress the limits of what he was saying. Investigations are ongoing, he told the House, so he would say no more, and nothing in his remarks should be taken as a view on whether an offence has been committed.
He also set out the general principle. Companies can legitimately lease residential properties, for instance to house employees posted to Singapore, and in such arrangements the company, not its directors or shareholders, is generally liable for the rent. But the law, he said, does not permit a company to serve as cover for fraud or to let the people who set it up escape their responsibilities.
Beyond criminal penalties, those involved may be made personally liable for a company's debts, for example in cases of fraudulent or wrongful trading. Mr Murali noted that the court can disregard the corporate form where it is abused for an improper purpose.
The story is still developing. The police, the official receiver and ACRA each have open inquiries, and none has reached a finding on whether offences were committed. The Siglap case remains before the court.
Citazioni salienti
As investigations are ongoing, I will not say more. Nothing I have said should be taken as a view on whether an offence has been committed.— Murali Pillai, Senior Minister of State for Law
The court can disregard the corporate form where it is abused for an improper purpose.— Murali Pillai, Senior Minister of State for Law
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su CNA ↗
Politics & Governance