SINGAPORE (May 26): Former Maybank Kim Eng remisier Kelvin Ang Wee Keng was the fifth person to be convicted in Singapore for offences related to a web of international transactions surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Ang on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a charge of corruptly inducing research analyst Jacky Lee Chee Waiy with a cash payment of $3,000 to speed up the preparation of a valuation report for a Cayman Islands entity called PetroSaudi Oil Services (PSOSL).

(See: Former remisier Kelvin Ang fined $9,000 in fifth 1MDB-related conviction)

According to a statement of facts on the case provided by the prosecution, NRA Capital was given the mandate to produce the valuation report after it confirmed it could reach a valuation target of US$2.4 billion.

If PSOSL sounds familiar, it is because it had been mentioned in previous stories on 1MDB by The Edge Malaysia.

Notably, in September 2012, 1MDB sold a 49% interest in PSOSL to Bridge Partners International Investment for US$2.32 billion. Bridge Partners International did not pay cash but issued promissory notes as payment.

On the same day, 1MDB through its subsidiary Brazen Sky, invested these US$2.32 billion of promissory notes in a fund called Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund SPC.

According to its prospectus, the fund makes high-risk investments and investors can lose all their money.

Brazen Sky is said to have subsequently redeemed US$1.22 billion from the fund.

Even in 2013, when oil prices were above US$100 a barrel, PSOSL was not in the best shape. Its principal assets were two drill ships, each more than three decades old.

Its sole client was Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), which was not paying its invoices in a timely manner. And, its bondholders had been warned that certain covenants had been breached.

Moreover, only one of PSOSL’s two drill ships was generating revenue at the beginning of 2013.

So how did NRA Capital reach its valuation of US$2.4 billion on PSOSL in a report dated Sept 16, 2013?

Find out the full story in “Fifth conviction in 1MDB case shines light on how a key asset was valued” on page 6 of The Edge Singapore (week of May 29), available at newsstands now.