Two ministers who sued Bloomberg and one of its reporters for defamation over an article mentioning their real estate dealings were awarded S$460,000 ($356,000; £266,000) by a Singaporean court.
The ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei last year over a 2024 article that made reference to their real estate transactions. According to Bloomberg, it used them as examples of a larger trend and did not suggest any illegality. The judge concluded that, taken as a whole, the article suggested misconduct by the ministers because it also referred to money laundering and concealment.
The chief editor of Bloomberg News, John Micklethwait, stated that the publication was “very disappointed by this ruling but we will of course respect it” in a statement.We contended during the trial that our reporting was truthful and beneficial to the public interest, and we still think the ministers have given a very strained interpretation to what is a good story,” he stated.
The article “Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy” examined the methods used by some affluent Singaporean buyers to conceal their purchases of Good Class Bungalows, a class of multimillion-dollar mansions in Singapore, including the use of shell corporations that conceal their identities.
Also Read:
