Singapore Senior Minister K. Shanmugam and Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng have each been awarded S$145,000 (US$112,000) in legal costs following their successful defamation lawsuit against Bloomberg News and one of its journalists over an article linking their property transactions to issues of secrecy and money laundering.
The costs award follows a Singapore High Court ruling earlier this month that found a December 2024 Bloomberg article defamatory. The court had also ordered Bloomberg and journalist Low De Wei to pay S$230,000 in damages to each minister, bringing the financial implications of the case significantly higher.
According to an extract of the court’s notes of proceedings released to the media, each minister was awarded S$50,000 for pre-trial work, S$65,000 for the trial, and S$30,000 for post-trial proceedings, totalling S$145,000 in legal costs.
The lawsuit centred on a Bloomberg article published in December 2024 examining Singapore’s market for Good Class Bungalows (GCBs), the country’s most exclusive category of landed homes.
The article opened by stating that “Singapore’s ultra-rich are increasingly cloaking their purchases of mansions in the city-state in secrecy” before discussing Singapore’s S$3 billion money laundering scandal and how those involved had been convicted, jailed and deported.
It subsequently referred to separate GCB transactions involving Shanmugam and Tan See Leng.
Bloomberg argued that the article focused on broader trends within Singapore’s luxury property market and was not intended to suggest any wrongdoing by the ministers. The publication maintained that the report neither targeted the ministers personally nor implied they had engaged in unlawful conduct.
However, the High Court rejected that defence.
The judge ruled that, when read in its entirety, the article linked the ministers’ property purchases with allegations of secrecy, opacity and money laundering, thereby creating a defamatory impression in the minds of ordinary readers.
The court also dismissed Bloomberg’s reliance on the Reynolds defence, a public interest defence recognised under UK law that offers protection for responsible journalism on matters of public interest.
The judge held that the Reynolds defence does not form part of Singapore’s legal framework and therefore could not be relied upon in the case.
Following the latest costs order, Bloomberg declined to comment when approached by the media.
The case has attracted significant attention within legal and media circles, highlighting Singapore’s strict defamation laws and the potential legal risks faced by international media organisations reporting on public officials and sensitive issues involving wealth, governance and property transactions.
