Forgery charge for jet fuel boss

Chen Jiulin, the suspended boss of crisis-hit jet fuel supplier China Aviation Oil (CAO), has been charged with insider trading.

The charges, which include making false statements, failing to disclose losses and forgery, come a day after Mr Chen and other executives were arrested.

CAO collapsed in December after running up losses of $550m (£248m) betting on the future price of oil.

The firm’s creditors overwhelmingly approved a bailout on Wednesday.

The offer by CAO foresees it paying 54 cents in the dollar over five years.

The trading scandal was the biggest to hit Singapore since the $1.2bn collapse of Barings Bank in 1995.

CAO sought court protection from creditors late last year, after losing money betting heavily on a fall in the price of oil at a time when prices rose sharply.

The collapse, according to a report by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers released early in June, was primarily Mr Chen’s responsibility.

But it said “every level of the company” had shown problems.

The other executives arrested – CAO’s head of finance, Peter Lim Tiong Sun, and directors Jia Changbin, Li Yongji and Gu Yanfei – have also been charged.

Mr Chen’s bail has been set at 2m Singapore dollars (US$1.2m; £660,000).

The case is likely to be resolved within six months, our correspondent in Singapore says.

CAO is China’s main supplier of jet fuel. Although Singapore-based, the firm is owned through a holding company by the Chinese government.

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