WINSON OIL TRADING PTE. LTD. v Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited

[2023] SGHC 220 High Court (General Division) 18 August 2023 HC/S 463/2020 · HC/S 474/2020

9 cases cited (7 SG, 2 foreign) Cited by 2 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	18 August 2023
Judge	Andre Maniam
Charges / claim	Bills of Exchange and Other Negotiable Instruments
Counsel	Omni Law LLC, Oon & Bazul LLP, Shook Lin & Bok LLP, Tan Rajah & Cheah, WongPartnership LLP, Andrew Pflug, Bazul Ashab bin Abdul Kader, Caleb Tan Jia Chween, Chelva Retnam Rajah, Daren Kim Chang Jin, Daryl Cheng On Lun, Hudson Wong, Leong Woon Ho, Levin Lin Lok Yan, Lua Jing Ing Priscilla, Oommen Mathew, Probin Stephan Dass, Sarjit Singh Gill, See Wern Hao, Suresh Viswanath, Tan Chee Meng, Tan Kai Yun

Source: [2023] SGHC 220, High Court (General Division), decided 18 August 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Bills of Exchange and Other Negotiable Instruments — Letter of credit transaction — Whether fraud exception established — Whether representation made in document presented to issuing bank was false — Whether beneficiary made representation without belief in its truth

Practice Areas

Bills of Exchange and Other Negotiable Instruments

Judges (1)

Andre Maniam Delivered

Counsel (22)

Omni Law LLC Firm Oon & Bazul LLP Firm Shook Lin & Bok LLP Firm Tan Rajah & Cheah Firm WongPartnership LLP Firm

Andrew Pflug Counsel for the defendant

Bazul Ashab bin Abdul Kader Counsel for the plaintiff

Caleb Tan Jia Chween Counsel for the plaintiff Chelva Retnam Rajah Counsel for the plaintiff

Daren Kim Chang Jin Counsel for the plaintiff

Daryl Cheng On Lun Counsel for the defendant

Hudson Wong Counsel for the defendant

Leong Woon Ho Counsel for the defendant

Levin Lin Lok Yan Counsel for the plaintiff

Lua Jing Ing Priscilla Counsel for the plaintiff Oommen Mathew Counsel for the plaintiff Probin Stephan Dass Counsel for the defendant Sarjit Singh Gill Counsel for the defendant See Wern Hao Counsel for the plaintiff Suresh Viswanath Counsel for the defendant Tan Chee Meng Counsel for the defendant Tan Kai Yun Counsel for the defendant

Parties (3)

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited Defendant Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited Defendant Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd Plaintiff

Case Significance

Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd v Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd and another suit [2023] SGHC 220 is a reserved judgment of Andre Maniam J in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 18 August 2023 in Suits Nos 463 and 474 of 2020. Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd sued Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited for non-payment under letters of credit the banks had issued to pay for gasoil that Winson had sold to Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd. The sales formed the final leg of circular trades among Hin Leong, Trafigura Pte Ltd and Winson on the afternoon of 27 March 2020; the banks contended no cargo of gasoil was shipped, and the judgment addresses whether the fraud exception to letters of credit was established and whether a representation made to the issuing bank was false.

Summary

Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd sued Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank for non-payment under letters of credit issued to finance gasoil sold to Hin Leong Trading as the final leg of circular trades conducted on 27 March 2020. The banks relied on the fraud exception, contending that no cargo had been shipped and that the bills of lading underlying Winson's presentations were forgeries. The court found the fraud exception established and dismissed Winson's claim against both banks.

What was Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd v Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp [2023] SGHC 220 about?

It was a High Court action before Andre Maniam J in which Winson Oil Trading sued OCBC and Standard Chartered Bank over non-payment under letters of credit financing a gasoil sale to Hin Leong Trading, turning on the letter of credit fraud exception, decided on 18 August 2023.

What was the fraud allegation in [2023] SGHC 220?

The banks contended that no cargo of gasoil was shipped for the circular trades of 27 March 2020, in particular the Winson-Hin Leong sale financed by their letters of credit, raising whether the fraud exception applied and whether a representation to the issuing bank was false.