Singapore has selected a seven-member specialist panel of investigation and law firms to assess companies linked to transboundary haze, channelnewsasia.com reported. The Ministry of Law and the National Environment Agency announced the appointments on Friday, Oct. 30, following high-level government meetings with corporate leaders.
Specialist Panel Appointed to Audit Haze-Linked Companies
The newly formed panel consists of three investigation firms and four legal practices tasked with scrutinizing ten Singapore-based companies. The investigation firms include Control Risks Group, FTI Consulting (Singapore), and Kroll Singapore, according to the joint statement from the Ministry of Law and the National Environment Agency. The legal advisers on the panel are Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Toby Landau KC of Duxton Hill Chambers, TSMP Law Corporation, and WongPartnership LLP.
Government officials selected these entities for their expertise in forensic investigations, financial analysis, corporate intelligence, risk advisory, and legal services. Davinder Singh Chambers was previously appointed on Oct. 23 as the government’s adviser to coordinate the panel’s work and ensure that evaluation reports contain the evidence required by the National Environment Agency.
Companies identified by the government must engage a team comprising one investigation firm and one law firm from the panel. These assessments will examine company operations, corporate relationships, and supply chains at the firms’ own expense.
Cabinet Ministers Meet Corporate Executives Behind Closed Doors
Prior to the panel announcement, senior Singaporean cabinet members summoned senior leaders from ten companies issued notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act for a closed-door meeting at The Treasury building on Wednesday, Oct. 28, The Straits Times reported. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam, and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu attended the briefing.
During the meeting, Senior Minister Shanmugam told corporate leaders that the government intends to pursue facts and evidence regarding forest fires in Indonesia.
The ten companies served notices under the haze law include Wilmar International, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), Bumitama Agri, Golden Agri International, First Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Kencana Agri, TSH Global Plantation, TSH Oversea, and APP Company (China). Representatives such as Wilmar chairman and chief executive Kuok Khoon Hong attended the session.
Upcoming Parliamentary Amendments and Assessment Methods
The government plans to table amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act during the parliamentary sitting beginning Nov. 3, Yahoo News Singapore reported. These legislative changes will grant the National Environment Agency legal authority to compel companies to appoint investigators and provide full access to corporate documents and premises.
Assessors may engage third parties, including remote sensing and geospatial analysts, to examine satellite hotspot data. The National Environment Agency will use the submitted evaluation reports to determine whether further action or enforcement is warranted against any company found to have caused or contributed to regional fires.
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