Jobless woman stuck with company directorships she cannot legally quit

On paper, Michelle Wong is a prolific businesswoman.

Government corporate records show that the 37-year-old is a director of more than a dozen Singapore-registered companies.

In reality, she is unemployed.

She lost her last job in early 2026, just days after starting work, when her new employer discovered that she held more than 30 company directorships at the time.

“I was shocked,” the mother of two young children told The Straits Times.

The firm that allegedly terminated Wong’s job over ongoing multiple directorships did not respond to ST’s request for confirmation.

Her future in the corporate services industry is now in limbo, as she is unable to officially quit more than a dozen of these companies owing to regulatory restrictions.

While it was part of her previous job to lend her name to help clients set up business entities here, she found herself in a tricky situation when she left that job but remained listed as a director for these entities.

ST understands that she is not the only one in this position.

Acted as nominee director

Wong said she was a nominee director for client companies from November 2023 to early April 2025, when she was a corporate secretarial director at Statrys Corporate Services Singapore. She received what Statrys called an “annual bonus” of $150 per company.

Taking on these roles was part of her responsibilities, which also involved incorporating companies and providing corporate secretarial services.

She was the first Singapore employee at Statrys, a Hong Kong-based fintech company.

Wong said she was instrumental in setting up the firm in the Republic, and she was its nominated director and secretary.

According to a copy of her resignation letter addressed to Statrys, Wong’s last day with the firm was April 4, 2025. Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) records show that she remained listed as a director of the company for more than a month after she quit.

By law, every company must have at least one director who is a Singapore resident. Foreign-owned firms without a local director often engage corporate service providers (CSPs) to arrange nominee directors to fulfil that requirement.

However, Wong said she should no longer have been listed as director of those client firms after she left Statrys, and she has no involvement in the various companies’ affairs.

She has made a police report, contacted ACRA and written to ministers, to no avail so far. The police confirmed that a report was made but did not comment on the case and, according to correspondence ST has seen, had advised Wong to seek assistance from ACRA.

When ST checked ACRA records on June 9 and 19, Wong was still listed as a director of 15 companies incorporated during her time at Statrys.

She was also listed as a current director at another company incorporated during her time at another CSP she subsequently worked at. Asked about this, Wong said she has no recollection of the company and confirmed that she had no current personal arrangement with it, under which she is being paid to remain a director.

Companies with little or no online presence

Most of the 15 other companies had little to no online presence. ST’s attempts to contact them between June 9 and 15 using publicly available information were unsuccessful.

All were listed under a virtual address, in the office tower at either Suntec City or Bugis Junction. Wong said using a virtual or registered office address is not unusual.

On May 20, lawyers acting for Wong sent a letter of demand to Statrys. The letter, seen by ST, said these nominee directorships expose her to potential liabilities for companies whose affairs she no longer oversees.

It sought written confirmation of the entities involved, discussions on compensation and measures to reduce her potential liabilities.

However, days after the letter was sent, Wong received notifications from ACRA requiring action on annual return filings for at least three companies for which she remained listed as a director. ST has seen these documents.

As with earlier filing notices she had received, she informed her former company and asked for her name to be removed.

“I did not separately notify ACRA at that point because I had already raised the issue with Statrys multiple times, and each time I was informed that they would check or look into it,” she said.

“I don’t know what these companies are doing (now). My name should not even be listed as their director at this point.

“It was not a normal handover delay from my perspective – it became prolonged and unresolved, unlike what I have experienced in my 17 years in the (corporate secretarial) industry.”

Wong, who said she has been involved in the incorporation of more than 1,400 companies, noted that her past employers had generally been more responsive to her requests. “It may not always be immediate, but there was at least a process or willingness to resolve it.”

Consensual appointments

In response to queries from ST, Statrys said nominee directors “must voluntarily accept the appointment and execute the relevant appointment documentation”. This refers to the legal requirement that such appointments are taken up with the individual’s consent.

According to the company, Wong had continued to accept such appointments during her notice period, which she said was not the case.

Statrys added that every foreign-owned company must maintain at least one locally resident director and that under the Companies Act, a locally resident director cannot resign if doing so would leave the company without one.

The company said replacing a nominee director requires the cooperation of the foreign directors and the execution of the necessary appointment and resignation documents.

While replacement directors had been arranged for a number of companies, some foreign directors remained uncontactable despite repeated efforts to reach them.

In such cases, Statrys said it could not legally simply appoint a replacement director or remove an existing one.

The company added that it has been engaging ACRA and providing updates on efforts to resolve the remaining cases.

Last local director standing

Kevin Chua, a senior director at law firm Yuen Law, which also offers corporate secretarial services, said Wong could have resigned from her appointment by giving written notice to the relevant companies if there had been more than one resident local director.

“The problem is when there is only one remaining resident director,” he added, confirming the legal constraint under the Companies Act that Statrys said it faces.

“In such a case, the law does not permit that director to resign, and the ACRA Bizfile system will not allow self-notification by that director.”

In response to queries from ST sent on June 9, ACRA confirmed on June 22 that its records show “this is the case for all the companies for which Ms Wong is listed as a company director”.

It said: “As it is the individual who is personally appointed as the company director (and not as a representative of the CSP), the appointment does not automatically cease when the person leaves the employment of the CSP.”

The affected person should seek a resolution directly with the CSP and the relevant companies if they wish to cease such director appointments, ACRA added.

Samuel Yuen, who is the managing director of Yuen Law, said the “broader concern lies in an industry that has not always kept pace with the seriousness of the roles it facilitates”.

He added that CSPs arranging nominee director appointments should ensure that these individuals understand the legal responsibilities involved and are properly equipped to fulfil these responsibilities.

Some protection from liabilities

In line with standard practice, Wong said she and Statrys’ client companies had signed nominee director agreements.

These set out the limited scope of her role and authority in the businesses, as well as indemnity provisions intended to provide contractual protection in respect of certain liabilities arising from the appointment.

“However, my understanding is that such agreements do not completely remove all risks or liabilities,” Wong said.

“They may provide contractual protection or indemnity, but if an issue arises, the nominee may still be named, contacted by authorities, or required to explain their role because their name is officially reflected as a director on ACRA.”

Nicolas Tang, managing director of Farallon Law Corp, said a CSP generally cannot continue having a former employee remain as a director after leaving its employment, unless there was a prior agreement for the person to serve as director for a specified period and the person was being paid for acting in that capacity.

Commenting on Statrys’ response to ST’s queries, Tang said the statutory requirement for a company to have at least one locally resident director does not mean a former employee is compelled to remain a director indefinitely on an unpaid basis.

“If foreign directors remain uncontactable, the CSP can terminate the engagement with the foreign directors,” he said.

“This is especially if the uncontactable clients are in fact engaging in illegal activities and the nominee director could get into trouble.”

He added: “If any of the companies are involved with lawsuits or criminal activity, (Wong) might be liable to be sued by third parties or charged for offences.”

Tang cautioned individuals considering nominee directorship appointments to ensure there are written agreements covering remuneration, the duration of service and exit arrangements.

Those leaving a corporate service provider should also check that they have been removed from any directorships or secretarial appointments, he said.

Caught in a bind

Wong does not view getting the remnant companies struck off as an ideal solution to those in her situation.

Under the Companies Act, a person can be automatically disqualified from being a director if the person was a director of three or more companies that were struck off by ACRA within five years because the companies were not carrying on business or operations.

Wong said she intends to stay in the corporate secretarial services industry, and such a disqualification would limit her ability to take on nominee directorships as required.

Singapore tightened oversight of the sector under the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024.

Among other things, individuals acting as nominee directors by way of business must be arranged through registered CSPs. CSPs must also conduct due diligence on a client before providing it with any corporate services.

For Wong, however, even this would not have prevented the problem she now finds herself mired in.

“I just want my name removed,” she said.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

ADV: From Challenges to Solutions - LPS 2026 Jail for Kpod-using driver who crashed car, in first such case after etomidate was reclassified