CAO fires three Singapore managers

China Aviation Oil (Singapore) has fired three senior managers involved in last year's derivatives trading losses.

Peter Lim, head of the finance division, Gerard Rigby, deputy head of one of the trading divisions, and Abdallah Kharma, head of another trading division, have all been fired. In addition, head of banking relations and risk management Cindy Chong has resigned.

CAO's derivatives trades left it with $550 million losses in 2004, forcing it to seek creditor protection in November that year.

Earlier this year, CAO Singapore's chief executive Chen Jiulin was suspended from his post and has subsequently been charged with cheating and forgery by Singaporean investigators; two other directors, Li Yongji and Gu Yanfei, and the chairman Jia Changbin, have also been charged.

Lim also faces trial early next year; he is charged with concealing the company's losses from auditors and cheating Deutsche Bank over a 2004 share placement.