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Cliff Buddle

Former Carrian boss George Tan Soon-gin believed he was working as an agent for the Malaysian Government when he obtained secret loans which have left him facing years in jail, the High Court heard yesterday.

   Anthony Scrivener QC, defending, said Tan talked about receiving funds from investors known as his 'Malaysian uncles'.

   But he had hinted it was really the Malaysian Government which was financing him in order to invest money overseas, Mr Scrivener said.

   Bumiputra Malaysia Finance Ltd (BMFL) was desperate to lend money to Tan, the court heard.

  The bank's directors were impressed by the Carrian Group and hoped to cash in on the property boom at the beginning of the 1980s.

  Banks were queuing to do business with the group.

  Tan's relationship with the Malaysians began when he was asked to assist in the purchase of a building in Hong Kong for the Malaysian Commission.

  He was willing to act as an agent in the deal, Mr Scrivener said.

  As a result, Tan bought Gammon House, now the Bank of America Tower, believing it could be sold to the Malaysian Government. But in 1980 the Government agreed to buy Lap Heng Building instead and Tan was left 'holding the baby'.

  'The defence case is that the management at BMFL believed they had misled the defendant in respect of the building and put him into potential difficulties because of it. This was felt perhaps more acutely because of the Malaysian connection,' Mr Scrivener said.

  Tan, 62, has pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining loans totalling US$238 million (HK$1.83 billion) from BMFL between 1980 and 1983.

  Mr Scrivener said part of the funds were to be used by Tan to buy the investment company Grand Marine Holdings Ltd.

  Rais Saniman, an executive director of the bank now serving a five-year jail term for his part in the plot, told Tan the purchases would be on behalf of the Malaysian Government, the court heard.

  He was to use a US$138 million loan from BMFL to buy the company and would then sell it to the Malaysian Government.

  The Noordin Committee, which investigated the activities of BMFL, was told a particular minister was involved because of his links with Saniman.

    Mr Scrivener said the committee concluded there appeared to be some credibility in Tan's claims.

  He told the judge Tan was 'the captain of a large ship which sank'. He did not leave the ship.

  'He has feelings of remorse for those he feels he has let down,' Mr Scrivener said.

   Tan will be sentenced on Friday.



'Malaysia link spurred' Tan in loan fraud