King's Counsel, 6 firms selected for haze probe panel, more may be added if necessary: MinLaw, NEA

The specialist panel will probe firms that may be responsible for, or have contributed to, the fires causing haze in Singapore.

A view of the haze from Chinatown on the afternoon of Oct 23, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)

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SINGAPORE: Seven members have been selected for a specialist panel that will assess companies identified by the government over potential links to transboundary haze, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (Oct 30).

Three are investigation firms: Control Risks Group, FTI Consulting (Singapore) and Kroll Singapore.

The remaining four are law firms or legal advisers: Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Toby Landau King's Counsel of Duxton Hill Chambers, TSMP Law Corporation and WongPartnership LLP.

MinLaw and NEA said in a joint statement that the members bring expertise in forensic investigations, financial analysis, corporate intelligence, risk advisory, and legal services.

These specialist firms are appointed to be part of a new panel tasked to probe firms that may be responsible for, or have contributed to, the fires causing haze in Singapore.

MinLaw said in an earlier announcement of the panel on Oct 23 that Davinder Singh Chambers has been appointed to advise the panel experts to make sure the necessary inquiries and investigations are properly conducted across different jurisdictions.

Senior counsel Davinder Singh SC has extensive experience in cross-border corporate investigations and complex legal structures, said MinLaw at the time.

Apart from an advisory role, Davinder Singh Chambers will also coordinate the work done by panel firms "to ensure that their evaluation reports effectively address the issues and contain the information and evidence needed by the NEA for its assessment", MinLaw and NEA said on Friday.

Companies identified by the government will be required to engage a team of professionals from the panel to conduct thorough inquiries into their operations, corporate relationships and supply chains, and to submit thorough audits to the government.

Each panel team of assessors will include an investigations firm, as well as a law firm to advise the investigations firm. These assessors may also engage third parties or other experts to assist with their work, carrying out tasks such as remote sensing and geospatial analysis to pore over satellite hotspot data.

"The assessment will be conducted at the companies’ own expenses. The assessors will submit an evaluation report to NEA, which will take the findings into account in determining whether further action is warranted," said the two agencies.

MinLaw and NEA added more members may be added to the panel if necessary. "Some law firms cannot be appointed to the panel because they are advising some of the companies that have been identified by the government," they said.

The move comes after senior executives of 10 companies potentially linked to haze-causing firms were summoned to a rare meeting with three ministers on Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu met with the companies' leaders to set out the government's expectations and plans to strengthen laws holding those responsible for haze pollution accountable.

Also in attendance were Mr Singh and senior officials from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, NEA and MinLaw.

The companies at the meeting were Bumitama Agri, First Resources, Golden Agri-Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Kencana Agri, TSH Resources, Wilmar International and Sinar Mas Group.

All of them had received notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and pledged at the meeting to cooperate fully with Singapore's investigations.

WHAT THE SPECIALIST PANEL DOES

The specialist panel will be made up of law firms, audit firms and investigative firms with expertise in conducting cross-border inquiries and investigations.

MinLaw said at the time that the government will examine the conduct of local and foreign companies, their corporate relationships and supply chains, to establish whether they have been involved in causing or condoning the fires that caused or contributed to the haze.

As complex corporate structures and commercial arrangements can span multiple jurisdictions, the panel's task is to help the government establish facts.

"The government will require these companies to provide complete access to information and other relevant facts about their operations, supply chains and corporate group structures to satisfy the government that the companies are not in any way involved in causing or condoning the fires," said the ministry previously.

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专家小组将调查可能对新加坡造成烟霾的火灾负有责任或有所贡献的公司。

2026年10月23日下午，从唐人街看到的雾霾景象。（图片：CNA/Ooi Boon Keong）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：律政部和国家环境局周五（10月30日）表示，已选出七名成员组成专家小组，负责评估政府认定的与跨境烟霾有潜在联系的公司。

其中三家是调查公司：Control Risks Group、FTI Consulting（新加坡）和 Kroll Singapore。

其余四家是律师事务所或法律顾问：Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP、Toby Landau King's Counsel of Duxton Hill Chambers、TSMP Law Corporation 和 WongPartnership LLP。

律政部和国家环境局在一份联合声明中表示，这些成员在法务调查、财务分析、企业情报、风险咨询和法律服务方面拥有专业知识。

这些专业公司被任命为新成立的小组的成员，该小组的任务是调查可能对新加坡造成烟霾的火灾负有责任或有所贡献的公司。

律政部在 10 月 23 日早些时候宣布成立该小组时表示，已委任 Davinder Singh Chambers 为小组专家提供咨询，以确保在不同司法管辖区内妥善开展必要的调查和侦查工作。

当时，律政部表示，资深律师 Davinder Singh SC 在跨境公司调查和复杂的法律结构方面拥有丰富的经验。

周五，律政部和国家环境局表示，除了担任顾问角色外，达文德·辛格律师事务所还将协调各小组公司的工作，“以确保他们的评估报告能够有效解决问题，并包含国家环境局进行评估所需的信息和证据”。

政府认定的公司将被要求聘请专家组的专业团队对其运营、公司关系和供应链进行彻底调查，并向政府提交全面的审计报告。

每个评估小组都将包括一家调查公司和一家为调查公司提供咨询的律师事务所。这些评估人员也可能聘请第三方或其他专家协助其工作，例如开展遥感和地理空间分析，以深入研究卫星热点数据。

两家机构表示：“评估将由各公司自行承担费用。评估人员将向国家环境局提交评估报告，国家环境局将根据评估结果决定是否需要采取进一步行动。”

律政部和国家环境局补充说，如有必要，可能会增加专家组成员。“一些律师事务所无法被任命为专家组成员，因为它们正在为政府指定的某些公司提供法律咨询服务。”他们表示。

此前，与造成雾霾的公司可能有关的 10 家公司的高管被召集到周三与三位部长举行了一次罕见的会议。

副总理颜金勇、高级部长尚穆根和永续发展及环境部长傅海燕会见了这些公司的领导人，阐述了政府的期望和计划，以加强法律，追究造成雾霾污染者的责任。

出席者还有辛格先生以及总检察署、国家环境局和律政部的高级官员。

出席会议的公司有：Bumitama Agri、First Resources、Golden Agri-Resources、Indofood Agri Resources、Kencana Agri、TSH Resources、Wilmar International 和 Sinar Mas Group。

他们都收到了根据《跨境烟霾污染法》发出的通知，并在会议上承诺将全力配合新加坡的调查。

专家小组的工作内容

专家小组将由具有跨境调查专业知识的律师事务所、审计事务所和调查事务所组成。

当时律政部表示，政府将审查本地和外国公司的行为、企业关系和供应链，以确定它们是否参与造成或纵容导致或加剧烟霾的火灾。

由于复杂的公司结构和商业安排可能跨越多个司法管辖区，因此该小组的任务是帮助政府查明事实。

该部此前表示：“政府将要求这些公司提供关于其运营、供应链和企业集团结构的完整信息和其他相关事实，以使政府确信这些公司没有以任何方式参与造成或纵容火灾。”

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