The founder of heavily-indebted Singapore oil trader and bunker supplier Hin Leong Trading (HLT) told staff not to declare futures losses of about $800m over several years, a Singapore court filing has revealed.

The affidavit signed by Lim Oon Kuin was part of a Singapore High Court filing on Friday that protects HLT and its subsidiary Ocean Tankers from creditors for 30 days, Reuters reported.