Singapore jails money launderer who jumped off balcony to flee

By Alfred Cang and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen

(Bloomberg) — Singapore sentenced another foreigner involved in the country’s largest-ever money laundering case to a 14-month jail term, and forfeited more than S$166 million ($123 million) of assets from him, his wife and his companies.

Su Haijin, a 41-year-old Cypriot national, was convicted of three charges involving money laundering and resisting arrest, the Singapore police said in a statement on Thursday. The remaining 11 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing, it added.

Su is the second of 10 foreigners to plead guilty in the S$3 billion money laundering case that has raised questions about the financial hub’s guardrails against illicit money flows. Su Wenqiang, 32, was sentenced to 13 months in jail earlier this week. Both of their sentences will be backdated to August last year, when they were arrested along with eight other foreigners during an island-wide raid.

During the raid, the elder Su jumped from the balcony of his bedroom on the second floor of his bungalow and was found hiding in a drain near his house to escape. The police seized about S$174 million worth of assets, consisting of cash, properties, jeweleries, luxury items and alcohol, suspected to be benefits from his criminal conduct, according to the statement.

Investigations showed the elder Su was involved in unlawful remote gambling activities overseas, the police said in its statement. His company in Singapore was found to have gotten payments from an overseas firm involved in remote gambling operations, according to the statement. These payments formed part of funds held in the company’s bank accounts with United Overseas Bank Ltd. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd., the police said.

Deportation

The non-cash assets of the Sus will be sold, for example through auctions, and proceeds of the sale, along with forfeited cash, will be paid into a so-called consolidated fund, according to the police.

“Criminals will seek to abuse our financial system by creating complex corporate structures to receive their criminal proceeds from overseas, launder it and enjoy it here with their families,” David Chew, director of the white-collar crime agency, said in the statement. “Asset confiscation is a key priority in Singapore and beyond seeking imprisonment terms for their crimes, we will take all steps within our laws to deprive criminals of their proceeds of crime.”

Foreigners will be deported after serving their sentences and barred from re-entering Singapore, according to the local immigration authority. The location of deportation depends on the person’s valid passport, it added.

—With assistance from Nicholas Reynolds.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.