Law firm and missing money from an escrow account in Singapore
Table of Contents
Escrow Account in Singapore
1. Introduction
In the wake of millions of dollars going missing from an escrow account in Singapore under the watch of a law firm, the spotlight is once again on the measures in place to protect and ensure the accountability of client monies held by law firms. Is there any cause for concern?
2. What is Escrow Account?
An engineering company, Allied Technologies made a police report after it was informed that S$33.2 million from its escrow account held under an independent agent, JLC Advisors, may have been paid out under the unauthorised instruction of a senior lawyer. The senior lawyer has since gone missing.
Escrow account is meant to keep the money safe by an independent agent from the negotiating parties. The funds in the escrow account will be paid to the negotiating parties when a deal is finalised.
Escrow account is predominantly used in conveyancing transactions. Escrow arrangement and accounts can also be used for transactions including:
- Joint ventures
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Project financing
- Capital raising
- Litigation settlement
- Private equity investments
- Delistings
- Divestments
- Initial public offerings
Aside from lawyers, banks or commercial escrow agents can be used as escrow agents.
3. Eugene comments in TodayOnline
Eugene Thuraisingam offers some insights to TODAY:
Clients are not required to deposit monies with their lawyers in the provision of general legal services, although some do for the sake of convenience and efficiency.
Recent News Mentions
‘Emotionally devastating’: Lawyers on the mental toll of defending those facing the death penalty
February 26, 2024
In Singapore, the death penalty can be imposed for offences including murder, drug trafficking, use of firearms and kidnapping. Eugene Thuraisingam has regularly taken on capital cases since 2012. With the firm now having grown in size, it regularly handles several murder and drug trafficking matters at any one time. It is difficult to imagine […]
Is it an offence to not report crime?
February 19, 2024
In an article by TODAY, lawyers and experts alike shared their insights on the legal obligations of reporting crime. Discourse on this matter comes after three recent cases in court where individuals had been charged for their failure to report violent abuse they had been witness to. So are we legally obligated to report crime, […]
Lazada employees question non-compete clause, clawback of shares after layoffs
January 13, 2024
In January 2024, Lazada conducted a retrenchment exercise in which it laid off a large number of its employees. Many of these employees had remuneration packages which included restricted stock units (RSUs), which is an award of shares that comes with conditions such as a vesting period before they are transferred to the employee. These […]
A closer look at criminal activities on Telegram
October 12, 2023
In a recent ChannelNewsAsia article titled “Why do criminals use Telegram?“, our Ng Yuan Siang shared his perspectives on the reasons criminals are increasingly turning to the messaging app Telegram for illegal activities, the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and the potential for Telegram to be held accountable. According to Yuan Siang, the rise […]
July 18, 2023
What are the factors that the court or police considers when granting bail? Is travel still allowed when a person is under investigation?
