Panama Papers | Macau CPPCC member holds Singapore identity

Ngan In-leng

One of the five standing committee members who represent Macau in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has failed to disclose his secret Singaporean nationality, as unearthed by new revelations in the Panama Papers.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Ngan In-leng produced his Singaporean identity card when registering two offshore companies that he helped to set up around a decade ago.
The CPPCC member did not disclose his Singaporean identity to Hong Kong’s Companies Registry, which makes its details public online. He is suspected of having used the identity to register companies through Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, instead of his Macau identification.
Ngan is the second CPPCC standing committee member found in possession of a foreign nationality. The Panama Papers investigation also pulled up the case of property tycoon, Lee Ka-kit, who is alleged to have declared British nationality when setting up offshore entities.
However, the Chinese government does not recognize dual nationality, and a CPPCC spokesperson two years ago said that no committee delegates held any overseas nationality.
Political analyst, Larry So, told the SCMP that Ngan’s Singaporean nationality was unsurprising as “a number of members of the CPPCC have more than one nationality. As long they don’t shout [about] it to the public, the central government doesn’t care.”
Another delegate of the CPPCC, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the newspaper, echoed So’s remarks, adding that Ngan’s dual nationality was not a problem as long as it was legitimate.
Ngan, who was the founder of the bankrupted airline Viva Macau, is often regarded as an influential member of the large Fujian community in Macau. According to the SCMP, he has kept a low profile since the airline went bankrupt and the government revoked its carrier license in 2010. DB