A Singaporean man, Eldric Ko, 51, was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison for leading a fraudulent wine investment scheme that defrauded investors of over SGD 12.6 million (US$ 9.86 million), authorities announced. Ko, the former president of Premium Liquid Assets (PLASG), was arrested in May 2024 after evading authorities for 13 years.
Between 2007 and 2011, PLASG ran an “en primeur investment scheme,” claiming to store fine wines in overseas warehouses after bottling. However, Ko and his associate, Koo Han Jet, never purchased the wines. Instead, they misappropriated investors’ funds, funneling approximately SGD 12.67 million into personal accounts.
PLASG was founded in 2005 by Ko and Koo Han Jet. Initially, the company sold and brokered fine wines, but mounting debts led them to launch the fraudulent scheme in 2008. Ko set up a shell company, Grand Millesimes Limited (GML), in the British Virgin Islands, issuing fake invoices as a fictitious wine supplier. Investor funds were transferred to GML’s Swiss accounts and then to third parties to hide the fraud.
Prosecutors revealed Ko misappropriated over SGD 10 million between February and October 2009. The proceeds were shared with Koo through underground remittance and cash payments. Over 240 complaints about PLASG were reported by 2011, and just before the police investigation began, Koo fled the country, followed by Ko 25 days later.
PLASG’s Hong Kong office also abruptly shut down in June 2011, leaving employees unpaid and hundreds of investors, including celebrity feng shui master Peter So Man Fung, defrauded.
Ko returned to Singapore in May 2024 and was arrested. During his trial, he pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust and dealing with criminal proceeds. The court considered his 13-year evasion of justice an aggravating factor when sentencing him.
Koo Han Jet remains at large, and over 200 investors are still waiting for compensation.
