Singapore Minister Iswaran, tycoon Ong arrested, released on bail: CPIB
Singapore (PTI): Singapore's Indian-origin Transport Minister S Iswaran was arrested on Tuesday and released on bail while his passport was impounded, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau has said.
A CPIB spokesperson on Friday said Iswaran was arrested on the same day as Ong Beng Seng, founder and managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, reported The Straits Times.
Ong was also released on bail.
"As part of bail conditions, subjects' passports are impounded. Subjects on bail can, however, make requests to travel overseas. CPIB will assess such requests on a case-by-case basis," the Singapore daily quoted the CPIB spokesperson as saying.
"CPIB assessed and acceded to Ong's request to travel overseas. Ong's bail quantum was also increased to SGD100,000. Upon his return, Ong is required to report to CPIB and surrender his passport to the bureau."
The spokesperson declined to provide further details, citing ongoing investigations.
Iswaran (61), is a senior member of the ruling People's Action Party and has been on a leave of absence from his official duties, was assisting the CPIB with an investigation into a case it had uncovered.
Iswaran's political career spans more than 26 years since he was first elected in 1997 as a Member of Parliament for West Coast GRC.
Before he was appointed to the Cabinet in 2006, he was on several government parliamentary committees and was the deputy speaker of Parliament from September 2004 to June 2006.
He has been Minister for Transport since May 2021 and has been concurrently minister-in-charge of trade relations at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) since May 2018.
Before his career in politics, Iswaran worked in both the public and private sectors, including at MTI as well as Temasek Holdings.
"No charges have been filed against Ong. He will be traveling from July 14 and will be surrendering his passport to CPIB upon his return to Singapore," Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) said on Friday.
Ong (77), is a Malaysian based in Singapore and owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix and is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP.
Iswaran has been actively involved in the government's engagements with F1, including making appearances at press conferences where announcements about the event's future have been made.
"As this is an ongoing matter, he is unable to provide further details at this point. He has undertaken to provide updates to the board if there are subsequent material developments," Channel News Asia had HPL as saying of Ong's current position in the high-profile case related to a possibility of corruption.
The contract for Singapore to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix for another seven years was signed last year - the fourth renewal and longest extension - bringing the event back to Marina Bay in the central business district after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Formula 1 (F1) Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2023 is scheduled for September 15-17.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
