SINGAPORE : The chief executive officer of a government-linked
IT solutions company, CrimsonLogic, has been charged with
corruption.
Fifty-year-old Velusamy Mathivanan and two other managers are
accused of conspiring to bribe somebody in exchange for
recommending CrimsonLogic for a project believed to be worth
S$400,000.
CrimsonLogic's top management were in court on Tuesday to face the
charges -- CEO Mathivanan, vice-president Tan Geok Hoon, 47, and
financial controller Thiagayson Sundram Pillai, 52, as well as the
company's former legal counsel, 41-year-old Alvin Lim.
They are accused of conspiring to bribe the former head of
Carrefour Singapore's IT department with S$35,000 in exchange for
recommending that CrimsonLogic be awarded an IT contract.
The money was to be handed to Matthias Tan Eng Haur through
Actinium Corporation if CrimsonLogic successfully clinched the
deal, which the company eventually did.
Tan has since pleaded guilty to trying to obtain bribes from
CrimsonLogic and another homegrown software start-up,
Gridnode.
He had alledgedly attempted to solicit S$60,000 from Gridnode's
general manager, Leong Kah Keong, and offered a similar deal, for
$35,000, to CrimsonLogic's chief executive officer Mathivanan,
through manager Pang Kang Ming.
He pleaded guilty on February 17 this year and was fined
S$25,000.
The CrimsonLogic team are out on bail of S$35,000 and their
passports have been impounded.
They each face up to five years in jail or a S$100,000 fine, or
both, if convicted.
Said defence lawyer Wendell Wong, "All three of them have
cooperated fully with the authorities. The company did not make any
payment to anyone. They will have to charge individuals, we
understand that. Nonetheless, our clients will be patient; they
have to let due process take its natural course."
The defence and prosecution lawyers say it is still early days to
determine whether there will be a long drawn trial.
The case will be mentioned again on November 8.
CrimsonLogic would not comment on the case, but said in a statement
that measures have been taken to ensure business continuity.
Its board has also appointed Leong Peng Kiong to be the acting CEO.
- CNA /ct
I am sure that this probably is not the first and will not be the
last.