The Dentons Rodyk team, led by Partners Terence Wah and Suchitra Ragupathy, successfully acted for the client to intervene in, and defeat a claim in the Singapore High Court for $13 million that was based on sham agreements between the client’s ex-husband and his first ex-wife. The case is reported as Chiang Ai Ling v Tan Kian Chye and another [2024] SGHC 330.

We first acted for the client in the divorce against the ex-husband. In the ex-husband’s affidavit of assets and means filed in the divorce, he suddenly disclosed that he owed his first ex-wife (the claimant in HC/OC 561/2023) $13 million which he claimed he agreed to pay her in consideration for the transfer of 10% shares in a company to him in 2015 and 2019 (“the alleged Agreements”). Shortly thereafter, the first ex-wife then commenced a claim in the High Court against the ex-husband for the said $13 million.

Notably, the ex-husband did not contest the first ex-wife’s claim and instead filed a Notice of Intention not to Contest to enable her to enter judgment against him for the said $13 million.

We took the position that the alleged Agreements were a sham conceived by the ex-husband and his first ex-wife for the purpose of dissipating the matrimonial assets that were liable to be divided in the ancillary matters hearing of the divorce between the client and the ex-husband, which was still pending. To prevent judgment in default from being obtained against the ex-husband and thereafter used against the client in the ancillary matters hearing, we intervened in the case and defended the claim as the de facto defendant. To ensure that all issues related to the claim were before the Court, we also brought a counterclaim for conspiracy and for a declaration on the shareholding of the company in question.

Following a trial heard over a 3-week period in October 2024 in the High Court, the Dentons Rodyk team succeeded in proving that the alleged Agreements were indeed a sham and that the ex-husband and his first ex-wife were in cahoots with the intention to reduce the ex-husband’s assets in the division of the matrimonial assets between the client and the ex-husband. 

Read the full judgment.

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