SINGAPORE, Sept 1 — Singapore-listed Axington Inc said on today that its non-independent, non-executive chairman Evangeline Shen and three other directors have quit, amid intensifying scrutiny over the company, which has been under the spotlight since a company it is linked to, Bellagraph Nova (BN) Group made a takeover bid for football club Newcastle United.

Shen, who is also known as Shen Che, 32, is one of BN Group’s co-founders. BN Group first came under fire after it admitted to doctoring photos in its marketing materials to make it look as if its founders had had private meetings with United States president Barack Obama.

The photos, which have since been removed from the company’s website, showed Obama with Shen and her BN Group co-owners, Singaporean businessmen and cousins Terence and Nelson Loh. 

The Loh cousins are also controlling shareholders of Axington, but do not sit on the board. 

The three other board members that have resigned from Axington are executive director Marjory Loh Erchang, non-independent non-executive director Wong Soon Yuh and lead independent director Chua Siong Kiat. 

With these resignations, Axington is left with two independent directors — Low Junri and  Roberto Dona. 

Low is the chief executive officer and director of Hydra X, which is one of the entities under the BN Group, according to marketing materials obtained by Reuters. 

Dona is the professor of practice in the business school of Xi’an-Jiaotong Liverpool University in Suzhou.

In its filing on the Singapore Exchange website, Axington said Shen chose to quit the firm as a result of "strategic changes that are expected to be made in the business direction of the company”. 

Meanwhile, Loh, who is the sister of Terence Loh, cited the "recent intense public scrutiny” on the firm as the reason for her resignation, adding that it is in "the best interest of the company” for her to step down as executive director.

Wong said he quit because of impending changes in the firm’s business strategy, while  Chua cited health reasons and medical advice to reduce his workload as reasons for his departure.

Separately, Axington said its board is reaching out to the controlling shareholders of the company to seek clarity on "the details of the impending changes in business strategy of the company” which was mentioned in the resignation announcements of Shen and  Wong.

The controversy over BN Group

BN Group has described itself as a "conglomerate” with turnover last year of US$12 billion (RM50 billion) that is in advanced talks to buy Newcastle.

While  Shen and the Lohs had photos taken with  Obama at a charity event they sponsored in Singapore on December 14, BN Group had said some of the photos published in press releases on its website and sent to the media had been edited to make it look as though Obama was in a private meeting with them.

Following the controversy, former US ambassador to Singapore Kirk Wagar resigned from Axington as an independent director. — TODAY