Two former Sembcorp Marine executives have been acquitted of corruption-related charges linked to the company’s former Brazil operations after prosecutors issued them stern warnings in lieu of prosecution.
Former Sembcorp Marine president and CEO Wong Weng Sun and former Jurong Shipyard senior general manager Lee Fook Kang were granted discharges amounting to acquittals by the State Courts on 24 September 2026, following applications by the prosecution.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said prosecutors made the decision after reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case, including the dismissal of related criminal proceedings in Brazil against Guilherme Esteves de Jesus, a Brazilian agent linked to the alleged arrangements.
Executives Had Faced Charges Linked To Brazil Operations
Wong had faced six charges, including five charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and one charge relating to alleged obstruction of justice. Lee had faced five corruption-related charges arising from the same case.
The charges were linked to alleged corruption involving Sembcorp Marine’s former business activities in Brazil between 2009 and 2014, and investigations connected to Brazil’s wide-ranging Operation Car Wash probe.
When the two men were charged in March 2024, authorities alleged that they were involved in arrangements involving payments made through Guilherme Esteves de Jesus, who was described as an agent connected to Sembcorp Marine’s Brazil operations. The charges included allegations that payments were intended to benefit parties in Brazil and advance the interests of company subsidiaries there.
Wong had also been accused of instructing employees to remove an email that allegedly contained evidence related to bribery arrangements. He and Lee denied criminal wrongdoing, according to Wong’s lawyers.
Brazil Proceedings Against Agent Dismissed
The prosecution’s decision to issue stern warnings instead of continuing with the charges came after considering the outcome of related proceedings in Brazil involving Esteves.
Esteves had previously been convicted in Brazil in connection with corruption-related offences, but was later acquitted by a Brazilian Federal Lower Court in 2023.
The stern warnings were administered by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on 21 September 2026. Prosecutors then applied for the discharges amounting to acquittals, which were granted by the court on 24 September.
A discharge amounting to an acquittal means the accused is cleared of the charges and cannot be retried for the same offences in normal circumstances.
Seatrium Had Separate Deferred Prosecution Agreement
The case involving Wong and Lee was separate from enforcement action against Seatrium, the company formed after Sembcorp Marine merged with Keppel Offshore & Marine in 2023.
In 2025, Seatrium entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with Singapore prosecutors over corruption offences linked to its Brazil operations. Under the agreement, the company agreed to pay a US$110 million financial penalty and undertake improvements to its compliance programme.
