If you remember, there was excitement last year when a Bellagraph Nova, a group co-founded by entrepreneurs and cousins Nelson Loh and Terence Loh, and Evangeline Shen, a Chinese jewellery merchant, wanted to buy an English Premier League team, Newcastle FC.
Unfortunately, their dreams crashed spectacularly when controversy after controversy emerged, including doctored images.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Loh cousins’ other company, Novena Global Healthcare, came under police investigation for allegedly using unauthorised signatures of accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) on its financial statements.
Two months later, DBS Bank applied to the High Court to wind up Novena Global Healthcare Pte Ltd, which they believed owed the bank millions of dollars.
Now, if you think that 2021 will be a better year (for them), think again.
Because not only did they not have the EPL football club, they’re now facing bankruptcy.
Here’s what you need to know.
One Of The Two Owners of Company That Wanted to Buy Newcastle FC Facing Bankruptcy
On 28 Jan 2021, it was reported that Terence Loh, the co-founder of Novena Global Healthcare, is now facing bankruptcy proceedings.
Maybank is seeking to recover S$3 million from Loh, who is the personal guarantor of the loan to Novena Global Healthcare.
Loh also reportedly owe $2.7 million to Citibank
The lawyer representing Maybank, Mr Ng Yeow Khoon, told reporters that the court proceeding has been adjourned to February 2021.
He said that Loh has asked for more time to formulate a repayment plan for Maybank.
Novena Global Healthcare is now in the process of winding up.
On a separate note, the director of Novu Fasthetics, a unit under the group operating aesthetic clinics, said that their daily operations will not be affected by the wind-up order.
Cousin Ran Off, Leaving Him With The Mess
According to ST, Nelson Loh, Terence’s cousin and co-founder, has already been declared a bankrupt by the Singapore High Court after he had failed to pay back debts amounting to over $14 million to DBS Bank.
Ever since the cousins have split officially, where Nelson transferred all of his shares to Terence for $1, he has been focused on recovering value.
“Since separating my business interests from Nelson Loh, my entire focus is to work very closely with the liquidator and to keep creditors informed of the efforts I’m making to recover value.
“These efforts include obtaining the highest possible valuations for the remaining businesses in order to satisfy their claims.”
Loh had previously said that his cousin ran off to China, leaving him to deal with the mess alone.
Bankruptcy – What It Means
As a bankrupt, there are a lot of things you cannot do.
This includes not being able to travel out of Singapore, start any court actions or be appointed a personal representative as a trustee or personal representative.
Of course, a bankrupt cannot be the director of a company as well, so if Loh is declared a bankrupt, he will no longer be Novena Global Healthcare’s director.
Bankrupt proceedings can be initiated against anyone who is unable to fork over S$15,000 in repayment.
If the bankrupt proceedings are uninterrupted, it’s assumed that the debtor is unable to pay the debt.
A voluntary settlement agreement (in this case, the repayment plan) can be reached between the debtor and creditor but should the debtor not be able to fulfil his side of the agreement, a bankrupt application can still be filed against him or her.
Featured Image: charnsitr / Shutterstock.com
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