Key facts
- Singapore ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng sued Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei for defamation.
- The lawsuit concerned a 2024 article about property transactions titled "Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy".
- A Singapore court ordered Bloomberg and the reporter to pay S$460,000 (approximately US$356,000) in damages.
- The court found the article implied wrongdoing by associating the ministers' property deals with secrecy and potential money laundering.
- Bloomberg stated it did not imply wrongdoing and used the ministers as examples of a broader trend.
A Singapore court has ordered Bloomberg and one of its reporters to pay S$460,000 (approximately US$356,000) to two ministers in a defamation lawsuit. Ministers K Shanmugam and Tan See Leng sued Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei over a 2024 article titled "Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy." The article discussed wealthy buyers obscuring purchases of Good Class Bungalows, using shell companies, and mentioned the ministers' property transactions. Shanmugam, the Coordinating Minister for National Security and former law minister, had sold a bungalow for S$88 million to an unnamed buyer using a trust. Tan, the Minister for Manpower, bought a Good Class Bungalow for around S$27 million. During the trial, ministers argued the article unfairly associated their deals with concerns about transparency and money laundering, suggesting possible wrongdoing. Bloomberg and Low argued the story did not imply wrongdoing and listed them as "newsworthy examples." The judge found that the article, read as a whole, implied wrongdoing by the ministers. Separately, Singaporean authorities ordered Bloomberg to issue a correction notice under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), which Bloomberg complied with while maintaining its reporting. Singaporean leaders have a history of successfully suing critics and foreign news outlets for defamation.