Singapore billion dollar money laundering case
| Date | 15 August 2023 (raids) |
|---|---|
| Location | Singapore |
| Type | Money laundering scheme |
| Accused | 10 |
| Convicted | 10 |
On 15 August 2023, the
It led to ten foreigners being charged for money laundering related crimes.[1] They are Chinese from Fujian who are holders of various non-Chinese passports.[3][5] Another 17 people are also currently on the run and sought after by the Singaporean authorities for their alleged involvement in this case.[6]
The raids conducted in August 2023 seized several luxury items and has been linked to unlicensed money lending in China, scams, and remote online gambling operations in the Philippines.[7]
Authorities were first alerted to the scheme as early as 2021.[2]
Sentencing
On 2 April 2024, 32-year-old Su Wenqiang, the first accused, was sentenced to 13 months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to two money laundering charges.[8] Two days after his sentencing, the ICA confirmed that Su would be deported after his release from prison and also banned from re-entering Singapore.[9]
On 4 April 2024, 41-year-old Su Haijin was the second person to be convicted and sentenced. He was given 14 months’ jail for one charge of resisting arrest and two money laundering charges.[10]
On 16 April 2024, 32-year-old Wang Baosen pleaded guilty to two charges of money laundering, and he also offered to forfeit his assets worth around $8 million to the state. Wang was ordered to serve 13 months in prison for the charges he was convicted of.[11]
On 29 April 2024, 42-year-old Su Baolin was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of falsifying his representations to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) and two counts of money laundering. Su had additionally forfeited about $65 million, or 90% of his assets, to the state.[12]
On 30 April 2024, 45-year-old Zhang Ruijin, who pleaded guilty to one money laundering charge and two forgery charges, received a jail term of 15 months. He also forfeited about S$118 million worth of his assets to the state.[13]
On 6 May 2024, both Wang Baosen and Su Wenqiang were released from prison on parole for good behaviour, and deported from Singapore.[14] The two men were deported to Cambodia given that they carried Cambodian passports, but Su faced the possibility of deportation to China, where he was on the wanted list since 2017 for illegal online gambling.[15]
On 14 May 2024, 43-year-old Vang Shuiming pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering and one count of submitting a forged document to a bank, and sentenced to 13 months and six weeks’ jail.[16]
On 23 May 2024, 34-year-old Chen Qingyuan was given a 15-month jail term for one count of forgery and two counts of money laundering. He also forfeited $21.3m worth of assets to the state.[17]
On 30 May 2024, 44-year-old Lin Baoying was given a 15-month jail term for one count of money laundering and two counts of submitting a forged document to a bank. Lin, who possessed more than $170.5 million in assets, agreed to forfeit S$153 million to the state. Lin was the only female defendant of the case.[18]
On 1 June 2024, Vang Shuiming was deported to Japan after he was given parole and released from jail. Su Haijin and Su Baolin were both similarly deported on the same date, but to Cambodia.[19]
On 6 June 2024, 36-year-old Su Jianfeng becme the ninth person to be convicted after pleading guilty to money laundering and forgery. The prosecution sought a sentence of 17 to 18 months’ jail, stating that the intention of pleading guilty came only at the latest stage after eight of the offenders were sentenced, and it was not a sign of true contrition or remorse coming from Su, whose case had spent a considerably large number of public resources, and no discount should be given to Su in terms of his sentence given the lateness of his plea of guilt. His sentencing was adjourned to 13 June 2024.[20]
On 7 June 2024, the tenth and final accused, 35-year-old Wang Dehai, was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of money laundering. Wang, who was Su Wenqiang's cousin, agreed to forfeit more than $49 million worth of his assets to the state.[21]
On 13 June 2024, Su Jianfeng was sentenced to 17 months' imprisonment, the longest sentence meted out by the courts in this present case.[22]
On 16 June 2024, three days after the sentencing of Su Jianfeng, ICA revealed that after completing their jail terms and receiving parole, three of the convicted money launderers - Zhang Ruijin, Chen Qingyuan and Lin Baoying - were deported to Cambodia the day before on 15 June, and they were barred from re-entering Singapore.[23]
See also
Further reading
- Sun, David; Sverdan, Roman; Aragó, Laura (16 May 2024). "Vast and tangled web: S'pore's largest case of money laundering". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
References
- ^ a b Wong, Shiying; Sun, David (16 August 2023). "About $1b in cash, assets seized and frozen in one of S'pore's biggest anti-money laundering operations". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ a b Chua, Nadine (3 October 2023). "S'pore money laundering case among world's largest with assets seized worth over $2.8b". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Singapore Busts Multimillion-Dollar Money Laundering Scheme". Voice of America. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "S$3 billion money laundering case: Only woman accused gets seven new charges, wants early date to plead guilty". The Business Times. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "'Golden passports': Where did the suspects in Singapore's new billion-dollar money laundering case come from?". ABC News. Reuters/ABC. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: 10 convicted, 17 on the run; police are after the rest". The Straits Times. 9 June 2024.
- ^ Kok, Xinghui (30 August 2023). "Suspects back in court over Singapore's swoop on major money laundering ring". Reuters. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Su Wenqiang, accused in $3b money laundering case, sentenced to 13 months' jail". The Straits Times. 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Su Wenqiang, first to be convicted in $3b money laundering case, will be deported". The Straits Times. 4 April 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: Man who jumped from bungalow balcony during raid gets 14 months' jail". The Straits Times. 4 April 2024.
- ^ "$3 billion money laundering case: Third accused convicted, sentenced to 13 months' jail". The Straits Times. 16 April 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: Fourth man gets 14 months' jail". The Straits Times. 29 April 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: Fifth man gets 15 months' jail, surrenders $118m in assets to state". The Straits Times. 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Two men convicted in $3b money laundering case deported to Cambodia". The Straits Times. 6 May 2024.
- ^ "Extradition worries grow for convicted money launderer after deportation to Cambodia". The Straits Times. 14 May 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: Man gets jail, forfeits highest amount of assets seized". The Straits Times. 14 May 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: 7th man jailed for 15 months, forfeiting $21.3m of assets to state". The Straits Times. 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Only woman in $3 billion money laundering case jailed 15 months". The Straits Times. 30 May 2024.
- ^ "Three more men in $3 billion money laundering case deported to Cambodia, Japan". The Straits Times. 2 June 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: Last of 10 people to plead guilty given longest jail term of 16 months". The Straits Times. 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Last man to enter plea in $3b money laundering case 'not truly remorseful': Prosecution". The Straits Times. 7 June 2024.
- ^ "$3b money laundering case: Su Jianfeng given 17 months' jail, last of 10 to be dealt with". The Straits Times. 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Three more convicts in $3b money laundering case deported to Cambodia: ICA". The Straits Times. 16 June 2024.