Hong Kong headquartered commodities trader Noble Group listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 1997. Between February and March 2015, Noble was attacked by an anonymous outfit called Iceberg Research in a series of three reports. These alleged that profits had been substantially inflated through a number of methods, the main one being the abuse of mark-to-market fair value gains. Accounting firm GMT Research and short-seller Muddy Waters also raised concerns. Between FY15 and FY17, the company subsequently impaired most of its mark-to-market fair value gains, resulting in over US$4bn of losses which wiped out its entire equity base. As a result, its share price collapsed leading to the company’s suspension, delisting and restructuring. In August 2022, Noble was fined S$12.6m ($9m) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its incorrect accounting treatment of fair value gains. It is a confirmed fraud.

Last updated August 2023

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