A Singapore shipping executive the US has accused of conspiring to restrict the supply of shipping containers during the Covid pandemic took a leave of absence from roles including Singapore's government-led economic resilience taskforce, the trade ministry said on Friday.
Teo Siong Seng, chief executive and chairman of Hong Kong company Singamas Container Holdings, is also taking a leave of absence from two other roles. Teo is chair of the Singapore Business Federation and board member of government agency Enterprise Singapore.
Teo has not made any public comments about the allegations and Singamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Singapore's trade ministry said Teo's leave was to, "focus his attention on addressing the indictment by the US Department of Justice," adding that it was unable to comment further given the ongoing legal process.
Teo is one of seven executives facing Department of Justice charges of conspiring to restrict output and fix prices between November 2019 and January 2024.
Prosecutors allege the scheme resulted in US consumers paying more, and waiting longer, for goods during the pandemic.
(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; editing by Barbara Lewis)