Wee, 65, pleaded guilty to charges relating to foreign exchange transactions that cost the shipyard group $303m, the Business Times reported.

He was sentenced to 39 months in prison after admitting nine charges of falsifying the foreign exchange trade valuation reports of Jurong Shipyard.

The deals involved positions he held with a host of banks, including OCBC Bank, DBS Bank, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale (SG) and Standard Chartered.

Wee