Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng have each been awarded S$145,000 (US$112,000) in legal costs after winning a defamation lawsuit against Bloomberg and its journalist Low De Wei.

A court ruling earlier in July 2026 found that a December 2024 Bloomberg article concerning Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transactions had defamed the ministers. Bloomberg and Low were ordered to pay S$230,000 in damages to each minister.

The legal costs awarded to each minister were broken down as follows: S$50,000 for pre-trial work, S$65,000 for the trial, and S$30,000 for post-trial work.

The Bloomberg article had opened by stating, "Singapore's ultra-rich are increasingly cloaking their purchases of mansions in the city-state in secrecy." It referenced a S$3 billion money laundering controversy and noted that criminals linked to the case were convicted, jailed, and deported. The article then named Dr Tan and Mr Shanmugam and referred to their respective GCB transactions.

Bloomberg reporter Low De Wei was photographed arriving at the Supreme Court on April 7, 2026.

Sources