Mulberry’s biggest shareholder has been charged in Singapore over the case of a former cabinet minister who was sentenced to jail for taking gifts from him.

Ong Beng Seng, who holds a controlling stake in the luxury brand, did not enter a plea in response to the charges of abetment and obstruction of justice.

A spokeswoman for Ong told The Times: “Mr Ong is seeking legal advice on the charges. As this is an ongoing matter, he is unable to provide further details at this point.”

The charges relate to former Singapore transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran, who pleaded guilty to charges of obtaining valuable items as a public servant and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Prosecutors during his trial accused Iswaran of receiving gifts from Ong worth more than £228,930 ($300,000), including tickets to English Premier League football matches, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, London musicals and a ride on a private jet to Doha. Iswaran’s lawyers argued they were gifts from a friend.

Ong’s charges come while he fends off a takeover approach for Mulberry from Frasers Group, which submitted an £83m offer for the retailer earlier this week.

Ong, who owns a 56% stake in the luxury brand under his family’s Challice Group, rejected the 130p-per-share bid earlier this week.

The Mike Ashley controlled retail empire bought another 3.96 million shares in Mulberry for 100p-per-share today (4 October) as it participated in the retailer’s wider sale of 10 million shares to raise funds.

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