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On 6 January 2026, R Shanmugaratnam (“Shanmugaratnam”), a 59-year-old Singaporean, and James Henry O’Sullivan (“O’Sullivan”), a 51-year-old British national, were sentenced in court to 10 years’ imprisonment and 6.5 years’ imprisonment respectively, for offences of falsification of accounts in relation to Wirecard. 

Background

A joint trial for the duo was held between 31 July 2023 and 21 February 2025 over 26 days. On 22 September 2025, the Court convicted Shanmugaratnam and O’Sullivan of their respective charges.

Shanmugaratnam, director of a local accounting and auditing company, Citadelle Corporate Services Pte Ltd (“Citadelle”), had claimed trial to 13 charges under Section 477A of the Penal Code for issuing 13 confirmation letters between March 2016 and April 2018, which fraudulently represented to Wirecard, its subsidiaries, and its auditors that Citadelle had held over EUR 1.1 biliion in Wirecard funds in escrow accounts. 

O’Sullivan, whose Singapore-registered companies used Citadelle’s corporate secretarial services, also claimed trial to five charges of abetting falsification under Section 477A read with Section 109 of the Penal Code. He was accused of instigating Shanmugaratnam to create five of the fraudulent letters.


Conviction

The Court found that Shanmugaratnam had the intention to deceive Wirecard, its subsidiaries, and/or its auditors when he issued the confirmation letters. Shanmugaratnam had issued the letters to fraudulently maintain a business relationship with O’Sullivan and Wirecard’s executives, Jan Marsalek and Oliver Bellenhaus. The Court also found that O’Sullivan had instigated Shanmugaratnam to falsify five of the letters.

Both Shanmugaratnam and O’Sullivan have indicated that they will be appealing against the convictions and the sentences imposed.