The global benchmark index used by fund managers worldwide said it no longer took into account the performance of the three firms since November 7, according to a report by Singapore daily The Straits Times today. Shares of gold miner LionGold Corp Ltd, natural resources investment firm Blumont Group Ltd and Asiasons Capital Ltd, an alternative Southeast Asian investment and management firm, were suspended on October 4 in Singapore, news agency Reuters previously reported.   The SGX ordered the suspension after the stocks plummeted and lost as much as S$5 billion (RM12.7 billion) in market value in less than an hour of trading. The SGX also queried investment firms Innopac Holdings Ltd and ISR Capital Ltd after their stocks also tumbled on October 4. All shares have resumed trading, falling back to penny stock status from historically high valuations. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Thursday that it was conducting an extensive review of the situation. Malaysian business personality Datuk Wira Dani Daim holds directorships and shares in LionGold, ISR Capital and Magnus Energy Group, according to the most recent annual reports of the companies. Wira Dani’s father, Tun Daim Zainuddin, is Malaysia’s former finance minister.

Another individual associated with LionGold is Soh Chee Wen (pic). Soh was a director and managing director of one of LionGold’s shareholders, investment firm Innopac Holdings Ltd, between 1994 and 2001, according to Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. In 2002, he was arrested and charged by the Malaysian Securities Commission for submitting false information related to a company called Omega Securities. He pleaded guilty in 2007 and was convicted, preventing him from serving as a company director for five years. Asiasons was co-founded and is chaired by Datuk Mohammad Azlan Hashim, who is also a director of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah. Mohammad Azlan is also the former executive chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.