Suspects charged in refinery heist

SINGAPORE: A Singapore court on Saturday charged three men suspected of involvement in large-scale oil theft at Shell´s biggest refinery, days after bringing charges against 11 under an extensive probe by authorities in the city state.

The Singapore subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc first contacted the city-state´s authorities in August 2017 about theft at its Pulau Bukom industrial site, just south of the country´s main island.

Police have seized millions of dollars in cash and a small tanker in the sting operation involving simultaneous raids across Singapore.

A Singapore court charged 11 men including eight Shell employees and two Vietnamese nationals on Tuesday related to the theft following a weekend raid arresting 17 people.

The latest three to be charged also included a Vietnamese national.

They are accused of receiving stolen property, with a combined value of S$896,444 ($676,510.45), at Pulau Bukom site, where Shell has its largest refinery, according to court documents.

The amount of oil products involved in the theft on two days in late 2017 were in addition to more than 4,300 tonnes of gasoil valued at S$2.4 million specified in charges brought against the 11 on Tuesday.