SINGAPORE – A businessman who was up to his neck in debt and facing ruin came up with what he thought was a crafty ploy – file for divorce, willingly give his former wife all of his many millions of dollars worth of assets, and so keep the creditors off his back.

Like many such ploys devised under the heat of financial pressure, the eyebrow-raising stunt only succeeded in arousing the suspicion of the official handling the bankruptcy. He promptly applied for a worldwide injunction to freeze the ex-wife’s assets, which included four condominium units worth over $12 million, so that the money could be used to pay off creditors.